Fifa defends Gianni Infantino as leadership dispute intensifies

Fifa has warned of a “concerted and ongoing effort” to undermine president Gianni Infantino, insisting that any challenge to his leadership must be conducted through the organisation’s statutes and democratic processes.

The statement came as tensions over Infantino’s presidency continued to grow following the collapse of a proposal to raise about $4.2bn by selling a stake in the commercial rights to the World Cup and other Fifa tournaments.

The plan drew criticism from Uefa, national football associations and senior Fifa officials. It also led to calls for Infantino to resign and prompted a crisis meeting in Morocco this week, where Fifa’s leadership reaffirmed its backing for the president.

Fifa did not name those it believes are attempting to damage Infantino’s position. Nor did it say which specific reports or allegations it was addressing.

The governing body’s intervention followed reports in The Daily Telegraph about payments made by Uefa to a former employee during Infantino’s time as the European governing body’s general secretary. Infantino has denied the allegations, while Fifa has dismissed them as unfounded.

“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,” Fifa said.

It added that recent coverage had contained “unsubstantiated assertions and demonstrably false claims” involving the organisation and its president. Fifa said it would respond to reports it considered inaccurate or misleading “directly and vigorously”.

The organisation also said it would not “support, facilitate or tolerate” any attempt to organise an election process that did not comply with its statutes, democratic procedures and governance framework.

“The Fifa president was democratically elected by Fifa’s member associations and continues to serve with their mandate,” it said.

At the crisis meeting in Morocco on Wednesday, Fifa apologised to its 211 member associations for mistakes in the way the commercial rights proposal had been handled. The leadership then restated its full support for Infantino.

The dispute has created uncertainty around Infantino’s attempt to secure a fourth term at the Fifa Congress in Morocco in March. At present, no obvious challenger has emerged.

Uefa has said it no longer has confidence in Infantino. On Friday, Norwegian Football Federation president Lise Klaveness also called for his resignation, arguing that he no longer held the institutional trust needed to lead Fifa.

Infantino nevertheless retains significant backing among Fifa’s 211 members.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) unanimously supported his leadership on Thursday. South America’s Conmebol, meanwhile, rejected any effort to remove him unless it involved a vote of the entire Fifa membership.

Mexico’s football federation (FMF) has also backed Infantino, despite its regional confederation, Concacaf, calling for a “comprehensive reckoning” with his presidency.

“The FMF will neither recognise nor approve any process convened outside of that institutional framework,” the Mexican federation said.