.png)
6 hours ago
6
Uefa has doubled down on its threat to boycott Fifa-run competitions and reiterated its loss of confidence in Gianni Infantino’s presidency.
European football’s governing body said Fifa’s public backing of Infantino on Wednesday night “changes nothing” and explained it had not been provided with certainty that repeats of the past nine days’ crisis will not occur. Last week Uefa’s 55 member associations agreed to boycott Fifa tournaments if Infantino did not withdraw his privately-funded Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) and, although the scheme was scrapped last Friday, it said the terms necessary to avert the boycott have not been met.
“Uefa’s associations were very clear about the conditions attached to their non participation in Fifa competitions,” a statement read. “First, the proposals to sell off the major competitions had to be withdrawn and secondly, assurances have to be made that such attempts to disfigure the game in this way will never be made again.
“These conditions have not been met. In addition, Uefa made it abundantly clear in its statement on Saturday that it has lost confidence in Gianni Infantino’s presidency. That position holds. Yesterday’s announcement that some people employed by the Fifa president (and whose careers depend on his favour) agree with him changes nothing.”
It leaves the turmoil enveloping football’s governance no closer to being resolved. If no accord is reached before the Under-20 Women’s World Cup, which begins in Poland on 5 September, that would be the first tournament subjected to a Uefa-led boycott.
Uefa remain hopeful that they can exploit divisions within Fifa’s leadership despite the Infantino-led show of unity following a meeting of some of their management board in Rabat on Wednesday.
There were several notable absentees, however, and the Guardian has been told that Arsène Wenger declined an invitation to travel to Morocco in his capacity as Fifa’s chief of global development because of a desire to distance himself from Infantino.
The former Arsenal manager had launched a scathing attack on the World Cup sell-off plans the previous day, saying it was “absolutely necessary and beyond question” that they were scrapped, as well as calling for greater “transparency and integrity” from his employers.
In contrast to Wenger, Fifa’s chief operating officer Kevin Lamour, who last week described the proposals as “the project of one person”, was not invited to the summit in a development that will raise further questions over his future. In addition Jill Ellis, chief football officer, and Sarai Bareman, chief women’s football officer, were not present in Rabat.
While Fifa’s statement explained that separate apologies had been made to the Fifa council and member associations for their exclusion from the FFE process and that it was committed to a review, the Guardian understands those sentiments cut no ice with a large percentage of Fifa council members and that the mood remains unhappy.
Uefa’s repeat of their boycott threat was followed by the release of another strongly worded statement from global players’ union, Fifpro, that condemned Fifa and Infantino for their alleged abuse of power.
On the eve of the World Cup in June Fifpro had signalled their intention to work with Fifa by signing a memorandum of understanding, which included ending their involvement in a legal case brought by the World Leagues lobby group. That agreement has proved to be the briefest of truces.
Alongside the strong criticism, Fifpro also wrote to Fifa making a series of demands, including giving players voting rights on the Fifa council, which is supposed to be the main decision-making body but in reality has often been bypassed by Infantino.
“Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) is gone, but the abuse of power that produced it is not,” Fifpro said. “Governance reforms, not a cover-up, are urgently needed. The withdrawal of FFE was inevitable. But withdrawing the proposal does not erase what it revealed. Governance reforms, not a cover-up, are urgently needed.
after newsletter promotion
“A plan capable of permanently altering the ownership and governance of the Fifa World Cup, and commercialising the competitions built by generations of players, was conceived in secrecy, negotiated behind closed doors and brought to the brink of agreement before the Fifa council, the member associations, players and football’s recognised stakeholders even knew it existed. That is not merely a governance failure. It is a profound abuse of presidential power.
“We have noted Fifa’s internal update from its meeting in Rabat, Morocco, with deep concern. Rather than confronting what happened, it reaffirms support for the organisation’s leadership while reducing a fundamental governance and constitutional failure to a matter of ‘processes and communications’ to be ‘improved’. That is not merely a governance failure. It is a profound abuse of presidential power.”
Earlier on Thursday the Jordan Football Association president, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, said Fifa had paid bonuses owed to its national team from last December’s Arab Cup but clarified that he would still not support Infantino. The money appears to have materialised within 48 hours of Prince Ali accusing Fifa of “blackmail”, saying the governing body had threatened to withhold financial assistance from his federation if it refused to back Infantino’s bid for re-election.
“Thank you to the Fifa administration for suddenly this morning delivering what was owed to our players and coaching staff, for the Jordan National team’s accession to the final of the Fifa Arab Cup in Qatar last December,” he wrote on X.
“This was funding that should have been received eight months ago. While this is a good development for our players, it does not change the serious concerns we in the football world have regarding the Fifa leadership, nor does it change what our FAs have been subjected to in the past.
“It is symptomatic of those exact difficulties that we all face, and that are usually linked to the Fifa presidential elections. And it does not change my clear position concerning the leadership of Fifa: my FA and I will not endorse president Infantino, nor will we vote for him.”
Clubs around the world remain engaged in an even longer wait for their share of Fifa’s £185m solidarity money pot held over from last year’s Club World Cup. It was intended to ensure a proportion of the event’s funding was spread throughout the football pyramid but the Guardian reported in February that frustration was growing at the delay in its distribution. That continues to be the case even though the £740m prize money pot for those competing was released promptly.
