Klaveness reignites FIFA leadership dispute with pointed reminder to Blatter

Lise Klaveness has called on FIFA president Gianni Infantino to resign immediately, saying there is “no way back” for the Swiss official and demanding that he step down.

The president of the Norwegian Football Federation made the comments at a news conference, in remarks published by Spanish newspaper AS. Her criticism represented a direct challenge to FIFA’s leadership and was aimed specifically at Infantino.

“Infantino must resign now. There is no way back. We demand that he step down,” Klaveness said.

She also dismissed the importance of a message sent after a meeting in Rabat, saying she understood that Infantino and others were facing pressure to withdraw their position and apologise. However, she suggested the message was intended to create the basis for a counter-attack.

“I do not attach importance to the message that was sent after the Rabat meeting, and I fully understand that he, along with the others, is under pressure to back down and apologise, but I believe it was essentially a starting point for launching a counter-attack,” she said.

Klaveness argued that FIFA had reached a point where extraordinary measures were needed if lasting change was to be achieved.

“We have reached a situation that requires exceptional measures to bring about permanent change. We have never had such measures before, and we do not have them now. There is no way back for Infantino,” she added.

Her comments also turned attention to former FIFA president Joseph Blatter, who had reportedly mentioned Klaveness as a possible alternative to Infantino. When asked about Blatter and his remarks, she responded in similarly pointed terms.

Klaveness said she had seen what Blatter had written despite not using X, formerly known as Twitter, and planned to send him a screenshot.

“I am not on X, but I saw what he said. I will take a screenshot and send it to him,” she said.

She then referred to her own experience of Blatter’s presidency, recalling a comment he made during the period when she was a player.

“Blatter was president when I was a player. I remember that he wanted us to play in shorter trousers than the ones we were wearing, but I have nothing more to say about this matter,” Klaveness added.

The Norwegian official’s remarks therefore combined an immediate demand for Infantino’s resignation with a reference to an earlier episode involving Blatter. Her position was unequivocal throughout the news conference: she said FIFA required major and lasting change, while insisting that she saw no route back for the current president.