FIFA have condemned efforts to oust Gianni Infantino as the governing body’s president in a statement released in response to allegations of an affair with a colleague during Infantino’s time as UEFA’s secretary-general.
A FIFA spokesperson told the Telegraph, who originally reported the details of the alleged affair, promotion to a managerial role, six-figure sum payout upon departure and payment for business school, that Infantino “strongly denies” the allegations and that they are “categorically untrue”.
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The organisation went a step further on Saturday with a feisty statement targeting what it claims are “unsubstantiated assertions and demonstrably false claims” about Infantino.
The FIFA president has been under fire since his plan to create a new subsidiary, called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), to manage commercial and ticketing rights for the World Cup and Club World Cup, with a 20-30 per cent stake sold off to private investment.
European governing body UEFA, who is exploring the option of opening investigation into Infantino’s actions during his time there, has been leading the charge against the FIFA boss.
Norwegian Football Federation president Lise Klaveness on Friday called on Infantino to resign.
While UEFA’s member nations threatened to boycott any FIFA competitions if the FFE proposal went ahead.
They have not removed that threat despite the plan’s collapse, however.
Now, the European nations are saying that the boycott threat will not be removed until Infantino is gone from the post he has held since taking over from Sep Blatter in 2016.
But the anti-Infantino sentiment is not global.
The 56-year-old Swiss has received support from the South American and African federations as well as from World Cup co-host Mexico.
With 211 FIFA member nations to vote on his presidency next year, the numbers are tight and FIFA used the recent support to dig its heels in on Infantino’s future.
“Echoing the recent statements of CONMEBOL and CAF, as well as discussions with FIFA Member Associations and Confederations from around the world, FIFA will not support, facilitate or tolerate any process concerning the election of the FIFA President that is inconsistent with FIFA’s Statutes, democratic procedures and established governance framework,” the statement read.
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“The FIFA President was democratically elected by FIFA’s Member Associations and continues to serve with their mandate.
“It is increasingly evident that there is a concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine FIFA and its President. 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.
“Recent reporting has included unsubstantiated assertions and demonstrably false claims concerning FIFA and its President. Speculation and insinuation should not be presented as fact, and repetition does not make an allegation true.
“The FIFA President has dedicated more than 30 years of his professional life to European and world football, contributing to significant change in the game and, in particular, to broadening access, resources and opportunity across world football. Change inevitably challenges established interests, but disagreement with that change cannot justify efforts to undermine the democratic mandate of FIFA’s President or the institution he was elected to lead.
“FIFA welcomes legitimate scrutiny. But scrutiny is not a licence to distort facts, amplify unsubstantiated allegations or manufacture distractions designed to undermine progress. Where reporting is inaccurate or misleading, FIFA will challenge it directly and vigorously.
“FIFA’s responsibility is to its 211 Member Associations and to football around the world. We will not be distracted or diverted from strengthening the organisation, delivering for our Member Associations and continuing the work of making football truly global. Through the FIFA President and the FIFA administration, our focus remains firmly on that mission, and we are more determined than ever to fulfil it.”