UEFA double down on threat to boycott the World Cup – after under-fire FIFA president Gianni Infantino refused to resign
UEFA have doubled down on their threat to boycott the World Cup as the organisation reiterated it has ‘lost confidence’ in FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
Infantino has faced a major backlash since plans to sell off stakes in the World Cup emerged, leading to European football’s governing body UEFA’s initial threat to boycott the tournament if the plans were enacted.
While plans have been scrapped, FIFA executives on Wednesday issued a statement giving their ‘full support’ to Infantino while acknowledging ‘mistakes’ in the plan.
FIFA said they have now apologised in a letter to the various football associations and that a ‘review’ will be carried out.
UEFA have now stressed the conditions to avoid a boycott of FIFA competitions have not been met, while the organisation again took aim at Infantino, as well as those ‘whose careers depend on his favour’.
‘UEFA’s associations were very clear about the conditions attached to their non participation in FIFA competitions,’ the statement read.
UEFA repeated that it has lost confidence in FIFA president Gianni Infantino and reiterated its threat to boycott the World Cup
‘First, the proposals to sell off the major competitions had to be withdrawn and secondly, assurances have to be made that such attempts to disfigure the game in this way will never be made again.
‘These conditions have not been met. In addition, UEFA made it abundantly clear in its statement on Saturday that it has lost confidence in Gianni Infantino’s presidency. That position holds.
‘Yesterday’s announcement that some people employed by the FIFA President (and whose careers depend on his favour) agree with him changes nothing.’
UEFA initial statement on Saturday had branded Infantino’s proposal to flog commercial and event operations as a ‘shabby, back room, opaque deal’.
Infantino had called a crisis meeting in Morocco on Wednesday, which concluded with a statement that FIFA’s secretary general Mattias Grafstrom, who had criticised Infantino, and other management board members in attendance ‘reaffirmed their full support for the president’.
For good measure, it added: ‘FIFA will no longer tolerate any attacks on its integrity, good governance and due process and will take all necessary measures to protect and safeguard its name and reputation.
‘There are always lessons to be learned, and FIFA will continue to improve its processes in light of this experience. In this instance, however, it is important to stress that, although mistakes were made, everything that was done was done in full compliance with the FIFA regulatory framework.’
The statement came hours after Luis Figo became the latest high-profile name to call for Infantino’s head in a blistering attack in Daily Mail Sport.
Infantino is facing mounting pressure over his failed plan to sell off stakes in the FIFA World Cup
Football legend Luis Figo became the latest high-profile individual to call for him to resign, while Arsene Wenger distanced himself from Infantino’s plans
Figo had described Infantino’s now-aborted plan to flog a stake in the World Cup to private investors as the ‘lowest, most deceitful and cravenly self-interested behaviour I have ever witnessed’ and a ‘grubby, underhand plot’.
Figo, the former Barcelona and Real Madrid star, who initially backed Infantino in 2015, branded the Swiss a ‘relic who should have no part in football’s future’ and accused him of ‘a litany of abuses’.
Aside from the World Cup sell-off, he referenced the decision to suspend the ban for USA striker Folarin Balogun after his red card at the World Cup and the half-time show during the final which ‘broke the laws of the game’.
‘Infantino has debased the office of FIFA president he promised to elevate,’ he wrote.
‘He has lied, deceived and tried to feather his own nest at the expense of the game he is supposed to serve.’
Amid heavy criticism and calls for Infantino to go, Grafstrom sent an all-staff memo describing the situation as ‘sad and reproachable’ and adding ‘individuals, unstable moments and unfortunate episodes come and go.’
However, second-in-command Grafstrom was pictured laughing and joking with Infantino at a women’s Africa Cup of Nations game following the meeting, ahead of the release of the statement.
Should he survive, Infantino would face re-election in March, and would need 106 votes from FIFA’s 211 members to win another term in charge of the global game.
