RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Fifa’s president ended the World Cup on a high, but is now battling to save his job after a series of self-inflicted blows
Hours after Fifa’s own chief operating officer slates the proposal , Andy Burnham becomes the first head of a major nation to call on Infantino to resign. Trump, meanwhile, says he has nothing to do with it: “I never spoke to him.” In response to the global coverage, Fifa condemns journalists: “Our planned consultation process was disrupted by incorrect media reports. We will proceed with this consultation … Nobody is selling football .”
Fifa doesn’t proceed with the consultation. Infantino instead issues a new statement, withdrawing the plan “ having listened carefully to all the views ”. But Uefa still ups the pressure on him, saying the Fifa leadership has “lost our confidence … We must identify those responsible and hold them to account … No option should be off the table.” There is one voice of support, though. Qatar’s FA says it “fully supports president Infantino’s efforts to continue growing and strengthening the game”.
A rebellion appears to begin among members of the Fifa council, while European countries discuss withdrawing longstanding letters of support for Infantino’s re-election. Elsewhere, the New York Post claims Infantino has “repeatedly tried” to call Trump for help, but Trump isn’t answering. And @SeppBlatter posts another disappointed tweet: “Money matters, but it must never become everything. #GianniInfantino”
The coordinated withdrawal of support begins. England, Wales and Serbia join Finland and Sweden in demanding change at the top. Meanwhile, lawyers acting for Uefa order Infantino and his staff to preserve all documents related to the collapsed scheme, saying Uefa is “ considering legal action, arbitration , and/or regulatory complaints”. The Concacaf president, Victor Montagliani, emerges as a leading contender to challenge for the job.
More key allies distance themselves from the Fifa president, including his No 2, Mattias Grafström, who calls the plan a “sad and reproachable series of events” in a leaked email to staff. Greece pulls support from Infantino, while Jordan’s Prince Ali bin al-Hussein accuses Infantino’s administration of “blackmail” , alleging that Fifa threatened to withhold financial assistance from his federation if it refused to back the president’s bid for re-election.
Infantino reacts, calling a Fifa staff crisis meeting in Morocco. Fifa then issues a statement saying staff gave him their unanimous backing while also putting his critics on notice: “It was agreed that Fifa will no longer tolerate any attacks on its integrity.” The former Portugal star Luís Figo, meanwhile, writes in the Daily Mail that “Infantino has lied, deceived and tried to feather his own nest … It is too late to save his dignity but it is not too late to save football. He should go. Now.”
Responding to the Fifa statement about its staff meeting, Uefa doubles down on its boycott threat. It adds: “Yesterday’s announcement that some people employed by the Fifa president (and whose careers depend on his favour) agree with him changes nothing.” The global players’ union, Fifpro, meanwhile, says that while Infantino’s scheme is gone, “ the abuse of power that produced it is not … Reforms, not a cover-up, are urgently needed.”
Allies begin to surface as Mexico and Argentina follow Africa’s governing body in rallying round – but others join the backlash. Norway’s FA calls for him to go and makes a new ethics complaint against Infantino on multiple fronts, including over his alleged breaches of Fifa’s rules on political neutrality. Infantino, meanwhile, takes a mini- break, arriving in Colombia for the inauguration of the hard-right president Abelardo de la Espriella, a key Trump ally. Infantino tells an audience there: “It is a joy to be here today. Football is joy, football is happiness, football is unity.”
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