UEFA 'working behind the scenes' to oust FIFA president Gianni Infantino

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Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

UEFA is reportedly considering putting forward a candidate to challenge incumbent Gianni Infantino at next year's FIFA presidential election.

Once hailed as a great reformer, Infantino has increasingly morphed into a pariah since his initial election as FIFA supremo at an extraordinary congress in 2016, following Sepp Blatter's resignation after a large-scale corruption scandal.

Infantino has energetically cosied up to world leaders, which has led to accusations that he is breaching FIFA's duty of neutrality on political matters. Most notably, the 56-year-old maintains close ties to US president Donald Trump and has actively endorsed his politics.

The latest in Infantino's long list of scandals revolves around American striker Folarin Balogun, who will be eligible to play against Belgium today despite receiving a red card in the USMNT's previous match.

Donald Trump has bragged about how he personally called Infantino to have Balogun's ban lifted, while the FIFA chief insists that the decision was made by an independent body without any interference. The fallout has been enormous.

UEFA at war with FIFA

The Balogun verdict has been widely condemned, with the Belgian FA announcing that it will challenge the legality of the result if Balogun actually takes to the field at Lumen Field in Seattle today.

Even UEFA has used the opportunity to score some easy points. European football's governing body has been increasingly bullish and confrontational in its dealings with FIFA in recent years, and it has now insisted that the Balogun incident has "crossed a red line."

In its statement, UEFA added: "Football, like any other sports, relies on rules, which are the basis for fair, honest and transparent competition. Sometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case not.

"A minimum automatic suspension of one match following a red card is not a discretionary option and does not require the decision of a competent body to be enacted. It is a principle embedded in regulations, which cannot be made subject to exceptions, let alone in the middle of a tournament where several other players have been in the same situation and regularly served their suspension.

"When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined. Equally, such decision creates a precedent in the ongoing tournament, where similar situations will now require an equal treatment, to the detriment of the competition.

"Football is the most loved sport in the world because it is a beautiful game and is trusted because it is played everywhere with the same laws. A tournament is never a pure standalone and, if the tournament in question is the World Cup, it has the power to drive positive or negative consequences on the game as a whole.

"We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision."

This is only the latest jibe UEFA has taken at FIFA. Back in December, the governing body announced its ticketing policy for the 2028 European Championship in the United Kingdom and Ireland, which is deliberately in sharp contrast to FIFA's strategy for this World Cup.

UEFA announced that there will be no dynamic pricing and that the cheapest categories constitute 40% of the available inventory. 80% of the three million tickets will be reserved for supporters and the general public, and they will only be sold after the group stage draw.

UEFA to dethrone Infantino?

Besides ticketing and statements, UEFA may also take more direct action against FIFA soon. According to investigative journalist Romain Molina, the idea of challenging Infantino at next year's FIFA presidential election has been floated.

He claims that "several people on the UEFA board have been working behind the scenes for some time to put a candidate forward." The main grievance, the journalist writes, is Infantino's currying favour with Trump.

He adds that several senior figures, not just within UEFA but also other confederations, believe that Infantino's position has become untenable due to his relationship with Trump.

However, Molina emphasises that "there's often a difference between talking and acting," and he accuses "the vast majority" of the people in question of lacking the necessary "courage" to actually take matters into their own hands.

In 2016, Infantino secured a shock victory after beating numerous challengers to the FIFA presidency, including the heavily favoured Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, a member of the Bahraini royal family. In 2019 and 2023, Infantino was re-elected unopposed.

The 56-year-old announced his candidacy for the 2027 election at FIFA's most recent congress in Vancouver in May. "I want to tell you first - the 211 Member Associations - that I will be a candidate for the election of FIFA President next year,” he said.

Rabat, the capital of 2030 World Cup co-host Morocco, will host next year's congress, which is currently slated to take place on 18 March.

Written by

Tom Weber | Writer

Tom Weber is an experienced, multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer as part of his freelance work for FootballTransfers.

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