Under-fire Fifa boss Gianni Infantino is apparently seeking help from his pal Donald Trump in order to keep his job
Gianni Infantino wants Donald Trump to save his job as head of FIFA, sources say. He has repeatedly tried to call the US President for support as he faces the red card after his botched plan to flog off the World Cup horrified the football commuity.
Pressure was mounting on Infantino as Wales became the first home nation to withdraw backing for his bid to carry on as FIFA president – followed by England’s FA. UEFA, the head of Europe’s football leagues and PM Andy Burnham have all called for Infantino to go.
But the Swiss lawyer is determined to cling to power – and wants football buddy Trump to lend him his support.
Infantino has described the American president as a ‘really close friend’ and awarded him the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize ahead of the World Cup.
Trump successfully lobbied Infantino to get the US’s star striker Folarin Balogun’s red card ban kicked into touch so he could play against Belgium in the tournament’s round of 16.
One of Trump’s in-laws was set to buy a £3.1bn 20% stake in the FIFA sister company Infantino planned to set up to run the World Cup.
Infantino planned to run the spin-off himself – for a reported £22m salary.
He kicked the plan into touch at the weekend after UEFA – including England’s FA – and CONCACAF vowed to boycott the World Cup if it went ahead.
His senior adviser quit in protest and FIFA’s chief operating officer accused Infantino of a ‘unilateral exercise of power’ that displayed a lack of ‘trust’, ‘transparency’, ‘discernment’, ‘good governance’ and ‘respect’.
UEFA said it welcomed the axing of the plan but believed Infantino had lost the trust of the football world in trying to push through a ‘shabby, back room, opaque deal’.
It is understood all 55 UEFA member nations would opt to oust him in a vote of no-confidence if he refuses to step down. UEFA could trigger such a vote with 43 nations.
Amid mounting calls for him to quit it was reported Infantino was hoping to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for crisis talks.
FIFA and the State Department both denied a meeting was taking place.
Dylan Johnson, the assistant secretary of state for global public affairs, wrote on X: “There are no plans for @SecRubio to speak with Infantino and there is no call this morning.
An insider told the New York Post Infantino – who has been described as a ‘dead duck’ – ‘wanted to get online with the secretary and talk about how soccer can be a form of soft power for America’.
“But we all know that it is about job protection. It is not about anything else at this point.
“He is looking for allies of note to publicly support him.”
The Trump administration has kept its distance from the crisis.
Last week Trump denied he had discussed Infantino’s plan to sell off a minority stake in the FIFA spin-off to private investors – including the venture capital fund run by Johsua Kushner, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared.
Infantino watched the World Cup final alongside Trump and the two men awarded winners Spain the trophy together.
The FIFA president has reportedly lobbied Trump-aligned nations to help him cling to power amid no-confidence vote threats.
Qatar, Lebanon and Morocco, who all have friendly relationships with the Trump government, have leant their public backing to Infantino staying.
One source close to talks in Qatar claimed Infantino had personally told the 2022 World Cup host organisers that he still has majority support among FIFA’s 211 nations to carry on.
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al-Thani, president of the Qatar Football Association, released a statement underlining the importance of ‘unity’.
“The Qatar Football Association fully supports President Infantino’s efforts to continue growing and strengthening the game globally,” he wrote.
Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the Qatari president of Paris Saint-Germain, ruled out becoming a challenger to Infantino.
Lebanon, which granted Infantino citizenship last year, suggested the privatisation scheme could be ‘re-examined’. Fouzi Lekjaa, president of the Moroccan Football Federation, welcomed the decision to withdraw the proposal but backed Infantino.
FIFA Council members from Mauritania, Djibouti and Niger also issued supporting statements.
Political strategist Ashish Prashar said: “It has never been more clear with the nations supporting Infantino how intertwined geopolitics and football are.
“The Trump-Infantino connection is deeper than a made-up Peace Prize. It’s about bending states to your will using the power of football.”
The Football Association said: “We fully support UEFA’s position.
“It is time for a full and robust review of FIFA’s leadership and governance to ensure that the global game is run transparently, for the benefit of all 211 member nations and with the long-term stewardship of football at its heart.”
The Dutch FA said the botched process had led to a ‘fundamental breach of trust’ in Infantino.
While German FA chief Bernd Neuendorf said Infantino ‘acted unilaterally and without transparency’ failing to operate in the sport’s best interests.
Since taking over from Sepp Blatter as FIFA president in 2016 Infantino has been re-elected unopposed twice and appeared firmly in control of the organisation.
Last night bookmakers made current UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin favourite to take over from Infantino as FIFA chief.
Star Sports said he headed the market ahead of CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani, former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and Paris Saint-Germain chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi.