FIFA accuses UEFA of smear campaign against President Infantino

FIFA has formally accused UEFA of orchestrating a coordinated campaign to undermine the organization and its president, Gianni Infantino. The accusation follows a report from the Daily Telegraph alleging that UEFA made a six-figure severance payment, plus £45,000 in MBA fees, to a former staff member with personal ties to Infantino during his time as UEFA’s general secretary.

The allegations and FIFA’s response

The Daily Telegraph’s report centered on payments UEFA allegedly made to a former employee connected to Infantino, who served as UEFA’s general secretary from 2009 to 2016 before ascending to the FIFA presidency. UEFA confirmed the payments, which included both a six-figure severance package and the £45,000 MBA contribution.

Infantino’s response was unambiguous. He labeled the allegations “categorically untrue” and defamatory, while FIFA broadened the counterattack by pointing at unnamed critics it strongly implied were UEFA-aligned.

The $4.2B deal that blew up

In July 2026, FIFA proposed selling a 20% stake in a new commercial venture tied to World Cup rights. The deal valued the operation at $4.2 billion. Multiple confederations pushed back hard. UEFA threatened a boycott. The backlash was severe enough that FIFA abandoned the plan entirely.

On August 27, 2026, UEFA escalated matters by filing suit in a US court. The filing sought documents related to what UEFA described as potential criminal mismanagement by Infantino in connection with the aborted investment deal, which UEFA described as having an “absurdly low” valuation. Filing in a US court rather than a European one was a strategic choice, leveraging American discovery rules that tend to be far more aggressive in compelling document production.

A power struggle years in the making

Infantino took over the FIFA presidency in 2016, stepping into the crater left by Sepp Blatter’s resignation amid a sweeping corruption scandal. His background was as a UEFA insider, having served as UEFA’s general secretary from 2009 to 2016.

The political math heading into 2027

Infantino is planning to stand for re-election in March 2027. Several major confederations reportedly remain in his corner. CONMEBOL, which governs South American football, and CAF, the African confederation, have been aligned with Infantino on key votes in recent years. UEFA’s 55 member associations are a powerful bloc, but they are not a majority within FIFA’s congress, where each national federation gets one vote regardless of size or financial clout.

A US court proceeding that compels document disclosure could surface information that changes the political calculus. Criminal investigations in Switzerland, where FIFA is headquartered, carry reputational and potentially personal consequences. The collapse of the $4.2 billion stake sale already demonstrated that FIFA’s commercial ambitions can be derailed by governance controversies.

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