RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 12 sourcesFILE PHOTO - FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during the DAZN pre-match interview ahead of the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea FC and Paris Saint-Germain at Metlife Stadium. Sven Hoppe/dpa
Spain's LaLiga president Javier Tebas has called on FIFA president Gianni Infantino to quit over the World Cup investor affair and other leadership issues.
"INFANTINO MUST NOT CONTINUE," he said on X late Saturday. "That FIFA has withdrawn its proposal to privatise its competitions is good news. But it would be a grave mistake to think that this has resolved the governance problem.
"The confederations, associations, leagues, players... should not settle for this withdrawal and consider the matter closed. The issue is much deeper," he said.
Infantino said early Saturday that the plan allowing private investors to buy stakes in a new company overseeing FIFA's commercial rights and tournament operations was stopped.
The decision came after a fierce backlash culminating in UEFA's threat to boycott FIFA events if the scheme became reality, and rejections from other confederations meant that Infantino had no majority for the plans.
Tebas said the investor saga was "only the tip of the iceberg" as problems also concerned the suspension of a red card ban for American player Folarin Balogun at the World Cup after an intervention by United States President Donald Trump, with whom Infantino is close, World Cup ticket prices and other "unilateral decisions" such as on new competitions and formats.
"The problem is a governance model that concentrates power, reduces checks and balances, and sidelines those directly affected by its decisions. For all these reasons, I believe Gianni Infantino must not continue at the helm of FIFA," Tebas said.
"World football needs new leadership that modernizes its governance, recovers institutional credibility, and builds future decisions by agreeing them with the involved actors, after evaluating their sporting, economic and social impact rather than imposing them unilaterally."
Tebas has hit out at Infantino before but despite the fierce opposition from him and others the FIFA president is not isolated.
Federations continuing to back him include Qatar, Egypt as well as Morocco, which is a co-host of the 2030 World Cup and the host of the 2027 FIFA congress where Infantino seeks re-election for another term.
Bayern Munich president Herbert Hainer had also welcomed the end of the investor plans and called for governing change at FIFA.
"It is fortunate that this nightmare ended as quickly as it began, and that this absurd idea is off the table,” Hainer as Bayern left for a pre-season trip to Asia.
“Now we have to make sure that such an idea never comes back onto the table.
“This process is actually unbelievable — that none of the associations had been informed beforehand, and then it suddenly appeared overnight.
“Football must remain football. As the highest governing body, FIFA's job is to organize football. And if outside investors want a say, there is always the danger that the fundamental principles and basic structures of football will come under attack and be tampered with.”
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