UEFA-FIFA war continues as Vice-President skewers Infantino

News

FT Desk

The war between UEFA and FIFA is showing no signs of slowing down.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino is facing significant pressure after plans to open the World Cup to private equity investment collapsed. The FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal would have allowed private investors to take stakes in the competition in return for shares, with the additional revenue intended to increase funding for football development programmes worldwide.

The plans drew criticism over concerns about transparency, control and the potential influence of private investors. Just days after the proposal was first reported, it was abandoned.

FIFA have had to deal with a number of scandals over the last year including their intervention to overturn Folarin Balogun's World Cup suspension to allow him to play for the United States against Belgium. Donald Trump personally contacted Infantino intervene and there have been concerns raised about the ongoing relationship between the pair as FIFA is supposed to remain politically neutral.

"There have been a series of interventions by the leadership of FIFA which have troubled me, and troubled others in UEFA, for some time," UEFA Vice-President Laura McAllister told ESPN.

"There are issues around the awarding of World Cups. There are issues around human rights. Of course, there was the FIFA Peace Prize, which circumvented all of the consultation and involvement procedures that should go ahead with something that's as politically sensitive and controversial as that.

"There was the [Folarin] Balogun red card incident [at the World Cup], and political interference directly in that case. And I think all of that coalesces around a concern for the way in which the game is being run.

"Whilst nobody might have anticipated something as radically different as the desire to sell off a part of the crown jewels of football to private equity, it does fit a pattern of behaviours that I think threaten the existence of the game, and hence the need to act decisively and in a very unified manner."

UEFA and its member nations threatened to boycott the World Cup if the private equity plan went through and upheld that threat for a while as they were unhappy at Infantino's attempted apology, which cited a lack of communication over the plans rather than an apology for the plans themselves.

"I'm a fan as well," McAllister continued.

"We've got their backs. I think there's enough of us involved in the governance of football, certainly at UEFA level, who are fans or former players.

"We understand the dynamics of the game, which is why we united in such a powerful and concerted way around our opposition to FIFA Forward Enterprise, because that struck at the very heart of the principles of the game."

Infantino recently stated he would be standing for re-election as FIFA President next year and UEFA are busy compiling a shortlist of candidates to face him.

Several other governing bodies, as well as notable nations like England and France, have already withdrawn their support for his bid.