Infantino allegations prompt fresh questions over UEFA settlement and career rise

Gianni Infantino is facing renewed scrutiny after it emerged that a woman he is alleged to have had a relationship with while he worked for UEFA received a six-figure payment when she left the organisation.

The payment was made as part of an agreement for the woman to depart UEFA during Infantino’s time as the governing body’s general secretary, according to The Telegraph.

The details of the settlement have caused concern at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, where senior officials are considering whether to investigate Infantino’s 16 years at the organisation.

Such an inquiry could examine how the payment was arranged and whether the alleged relationship influenced recruitment or promotion decisions while Infantino was general secretary. Officials are also understood to be considering a broader review of his conduct during his career at UEFA.

According to the report, the woman was promoted during the period in which she was allegedly involved with Infantino. She is said to have moved from a junior role into a better-paid management position, with her salary increasing by 30%.

The speed of her progression reportedly caused resentment within UEFA. However, the details of the compensation agreed when she left were not widely known at the time.

Infantino is also alleged to have faced a difficult decision from Michel Platini, who was UEFA president at the time. Sources said Platini told him to choose between the organisation’s president and the woman.

The eventual agreement involved the woman leaving UEFA in return for financial compensation. After her departure, UEFA is also said to have covered the cost of her studies for a Master of Business Administration degree, at a price of about £45,000 a year.

UEFA confirmed in a statement that it had paid the woman when she left the organisation. It also acknowledged that it was aware of allegations that she and Infantino had been in a relationship.

The organisation said it had since strengthened its rules “in line with the standards applicable in modern high-level institutions”.

The claims concern a period before Infantino became FIFA president. He was elected to lead world football’s governing body in 2016, having previously spent more than a decade working at UEFA.

A FIFA spokesperson strongly rejected the allegations on Infantino’s behalf.

“Gianni Infantino vehemently denies these allegations, which are categorically untrue,” the spokesperson said, adding that “any insinuation of improper conduct or a breach of laws or regulations is defamatory”.

The reported payment and the alleged promotion have nevertheless prompted renewed questions inside UEFA about the handling of the woman’s departure and the decisions made during Infantino’s time as general secretary. Senior officials are now weighing whether the available information warrants a formal examination of the circumstances surrounding the relationship, the settlement and her career progression.