Win for Infantino as apology received following salary accusations

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Martin Macdonald | Writer

Gianni Infantino and FIFA have received an official apology after accusations were made that he was being paid a secondary salary from football's governing body.

Last week, the Times published a piece suggesting that Infantino received a secondary salary from FIFA that went undeclared. That information was proved to be incorrect and it was subsequently taken down.

FIFA confirmed via a social media post that they had received an apology from the publication.

The apology from the Times reads:

"On 13 October 2026 (Sport), we reported that Gianni Infantino received a "second salary" from FIFA, which FIFA had failed to disclose. This is incorrect. There was no 'second salary'.

"Regulations do not require FIFA to include expenses and reimbursements received by Mr Infantino in its annual report as they are not considered 'compensation' under Swiss reporting requirements.

"We also accept Mr Infantino did not purchase a property in Miami at a suspected undervalue as we reported and neither he nor his family are the legal or beneficial owners of Shadi LLC and have no control over that company, as we suggested.

"We are happy to make these corrections and apologise to Mr Infantino and FIFA for the errors."

FIFA added at the bottom of the post:

"As FIFA stated in August, it is evident that there is a concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine FIFA and its President. FIFA urges the media to act responsibly and carefully verify all sourcing to prevent the publication and subsequent reproduction of false and defamatory information.

"FIFA welcomes legitimate scrutiny. But scrutiny is not a license to amplify false allegations. Where reporting is inaccurate, misleading, or totally false, as in this case, FIFA will continue to challenge it directly and vigorously."

Infantino is under pressure following a series of controversies which have led for calls for his resignation. On Monday, UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis wrote to his FIFA counterpart Mattias Grafström, citing "serious concerns raised regarding the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project and other matters relating to FIFA's governance and decision-making."

The FFE was Infantino's controversial plan to sell shares in the World Cup to private equity firms, while he is also being scrutinised for his decision to award Donald Trump the FIFA Peace Prize and FIFA's intervention to overturn USMNT striker Folarin Balogun's suspension during the World Cup - at the request of the US President.