Fifa has issued a robust defense of its leadership, publicly condemning what it describes as a “concerted and ongoing effort” to “undermine” the organization and its president, Gianni Infantino. This formal statement, released late Saturday, serves as a direct response to mounting pressure and recent media reports targeting the Swiss-Italian administrator.
The organization’s statement follows a recent report by the Daily Telegraph, which alleged that a woman described as Infantino’s former lover received a severance payment from Uefa during his tenure as its general secretary. A spokesperson for Fifa told the Telegraph that Infantino “strongly denies” these allegations, characterizing them as “categorically untrue.”
Fifa took the opportunity to hit back at what it termed “unsubstantiated assertions and demonstrably false claims.” The governing body emphasized that “speculation and insinuation should not be presented as fact” and warned that it would no longer tolerate attacks on its integrity, good governance, or established due process.
Much of the current friction stems from the controversial Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal. This plan would have involved the creation of a new entity to manage commercial and ticketing rights, with 21% of the company sold to a private investment firm. Although Infantino and secretary general Mattias Grafstrom have since apologized for the proposal, the fallout continues to impact the president’s standing.
Opposition to Infantino has been particularly vocal within Europe. Uefa has explicitly stated it has lost confidence in the president, while Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) president Lise Klaveness publicly called for his resignation on Friday. Furthermore, European football’s governing body has indicated that its threat to boycott Fifa events remains active, as it has not received sufficient assurances that the FFE plan will not be revived.
Fifa’s statement on Saturday reiterated that the president was democratically elected by member associations and continues to serve with their mandate. “Those who do not have the support of Fifa’s member associations should not seek to achieve through allegation, insinuation or misinformation what they cannot achieve through Fifa’s established democratic processes,” the organization noted.
Despite the European opposition, Infantino maintains significant support elsewhere. The Confederation of African Football (Caf), representing 54 nations, has unanimously backed him. Additionally, the South American governing body, Conmebol, stated it would reject any attempt to remove the president without a formal vote involving all 211 Fifa member countries.
The Mexican Football Federation also broke ranks with its regional governing body, Concacaf, to declare its support for the president. These developments follow a meeting Infantino held with the Fifa management board in Rabat, Morocco, last Wednesday, intended to address the internal and external challenges facing the organization.
Fifa concluded its statement by drawing a distinction between accountability and harassment. “Change inevitably challenges established interests, but disagreement with that change cannot justify efforts to undermine the democratic mandate of Fifa’s president or the institution he was elected to lead,” the statement read. It added that while Fifa welcomes legitimate scrutiny, such oversight is not a license to distort facts or manufacture distractions. The organization affirmed that where reporting is found to be inaccurate or misleading, it will challenge it directly and vigorously.
