Gianni Infantino is ‘destroying the very essence’ of soccer after World Cup plan
Football’s world governing body FIFA claimed there is a ‘concerted and ongoing effort’ to ‘undermine’ its president culminating in allegations UEFA had to pay off his lover
FIFA president Gianni Infantino is victim of smear campaign, FIFA says(Image: Gabriel Aponte/Getty Images)
Gianni Infantino is the victim of a smear campaign to boot him out of football, according to FIFA. The sport’s world governing body has blasted a ‘concerted and ongoing effort’ to ‘undermine’ both it and its president.
It comes after it was claimed UEFA had to pay off Infantino’s former lover when he worked for the European football association. Infantino, 56, who worked for UEFA for 16 years before being elected FIFA president in 2016, has vehemently denied the allegation.
FIFA sprang to the defence of its president who is still clinging to power after apologising for his bungled World Cup sell-off plan. The association hit out at ‘unsubstantiated assertions and demonstrably false claims’ and insisted ‘speculation and insinuation should not be presented as fact’.
Gianni Infantino and his wife of 15 years Leena(Image: Roberto SCHMIDT / AFP via Getty Images)
But Javier Tebas, president of World Cup winners Spain’s LaLiga said Infantino was ‘destroying the very essence’ of football. He said: “For me Gianni Infantino’s time has long since passed.
“I’m not saying this because of recent events. I have noticed this style of management for a long time though everyone else seems to be discovering it only now.
“Gianni Infantino is not someone who contributes to the growth of football. On the contrary his projects are destroying the very essence of the sport – the national leagues.
LaLiga president Javier Tebas (Image: Jan Kruger/Getty Images for Soccerex)
“Football is not limited to the elite. For me the Infantino era is over. What remains to be seen is when that will take effect and how the succession will unfold. I hope it is not just a matter of swapping out some people for others, but of a genuine overhaul.”
A FIFA spokesman said: “The FIFA President was democratically elected by FIFA’s Member Associations and continues to serve with their mandate. It is increasingly evident that there is a concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine FIFA and its President.
“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.”
Infantino with the World Cup(Image: Getty Images)
The spokesman said recent published allegations included ‘unsubstantiated assertions and demonstrably false claims concerning FIFA and its President’. “Speculation and insinuation should not be presented as fact and repetition does not make an allegation true,” FIFA said.
“The FIFA President has dedicated more than 30 years of his professional life to European and world football, contributing to significant change in the game and, in particular, to broadening access, resources and opportunity across world football.
“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.
“FIFA welcomes legitimate scrutiny. But scrutiny is not a licence to distort facts, amplify unsubstantiated allegations or manufacture distractions designed to undermine progress.
“Where reporting is inaccurate or misleading, FIFA will challenge it directly and vigorously. FIFA’s responsibility is to its 211 Member Associations and to football around the world. We will not be distracted or diverted from strengthening the organisation, delivering for our Member Associations and continuing the work of making football truly global.
“Through the FIFA President and the FIFA administration our focus remains firmly on that mission, and we are more determined than ever to fulfil it.”
Infantino has faced widespread criticism over his failed plan to launch a FIFA spin-off company to run tournaments – including the World Cup – 20% of which would be sold off to private investors including one of US President Donald Trump ’s in-laws.
The Swiss lawyer planned to run the sister company himself on a £22m-a-year salary. He scrapped it after details were leaked prompting UEFA – of which England is a member – and CONCACAF threatened to boycott the World Cup if it went ahead.
Infantino last week apologised to FIFA staff blindsided by his deal in a bid to stay in office. Over the weekend he denied claims UEFA had paid a ‘six figure sum’ to his alleged lover before he got the FIFA job.
UEFA – which is threatening to boycott the World Cup unless Infantino steps down – said it gave the woman a ‘departure payment’ as well as picking up the tab for her Master of Business Administration degree after she left the organisation. Pay-off rules had since been tightened, the football body said.
Matters reportedly came to a head when UEFA’s then-president Michel Platini confronted Infantino over the allegations and the woman – who had been promoted from admin worker to manager – left. A FIFA spokesman said Infantino, a married dad-of-four, ‘strongly denies these allegations and they are categorically untrue’.
“Any insinuation of inappropriate conduct or violation of statutes or regulations is defamatory,” they said. In response to claims senior UEFA figures had concerns over Infantino’s conduct the FIFA spokesman said ‘no employee’ at either organisation had ‘ever raised a complaint regarding Mr Infantino’s behaviour because there never was an incident where he was involved’.
“All company actions related to employees, including any departure and severance packages, have always been approved by the appropriate directors in accordance with all applicable regulations,” the spokesman added.
