UEFA sues FIFA over scrapped $4.2B World Cup sale — SkimNews
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- UEFA filed discovery applications Thursday in three U.S. federal districts (SDNY, Southern Florida, Colorado) targeting Infantino, Thrive Capital, and Greg Maffei over the scrapped FFE plan.link ›
- Joshua Kushner, founder of lead FFE investor Thrive Capital and brother of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, is the subpoena target UEFA wants to chase.link ›
- Article 158 of the Swiss Criminal Code — criminal mismanagement — is the statute UEFA wants to invoke; the scrapped FFE deal carried a $4.2B / ~20% stake tag UEFA calls 'absurdly low' versus a $30B-plus enterprise value.link ›
- Infantino had collected 200+ letters of support from FIFA's 211 MAs by the July 19 World Cup final; multiple have been revoked ahead of the Nov. 18 candidacy deadline for the March 18, 2027 Rabat vote.link ›
- Aaron Donald unretired on a one-year, $20M Rams deal that can hit $30M with playoff incentives, reuniting with Myles Garrett on a defense chasing Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium.link ›
- Tottenham sit 20th with zero goals after two games and a £300m summer; De Zerbi said Richarlison — left out of Saturday's squad — has asked to leave 'too many times.'link ›
- Tottenham and Everton are in advanced talks on a near-£95m swap: £60m for Iliman Ndiaye to Spurs, £35m for Richarlison back to Goodison.link ›
- Aston Villa lead Premier League transfer sales at €293.1m — fueled by Morgan Rogers' €138m Chelsea move — but took a €22.5m Uefa squad-cost fine and lost 4-0 to Brighton.link ›
UEFA turned its war with Gianni Infantino into a federal case this week, filing discovery applications in three U.S. district courts — SDNY, Southern Florida, and Colorado — targeting FIFA's president, Thrive Capital, and ex-Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei over the scrapped $4.2 billion FIFA Forward Enterprise plan. UEFA is hunting subpoenas of Joshua Kushner, Thrive's founder and Jared Kushner's brother, to fuel a Swiss criminal complaint under Article 158 with Infantino's March 18 re-election six months out. The legal gun fires as more than 200 'letters of support' Infantino collected by the July 19 final are being revoked. Tottenham, meanwhile, sit dead last after a £300m summer — and De Zerbi admitted Richarlison has asked out 'too many times'.
The stories behind this week
UEFA takes legal action against FIFA, Joshua Kushner over scrapped plans to sell stakes in World CupUEFA's escalation from public criticism to U.S. court filings—and a threatened Swiss criminal complaint under Article 158—converts a governance dispute into a legal one with direct stakes for Infantino's March 18 re-election bid in Rabat. With UEFA, Concacaf, and AFC voting members already withholding support and the Nov. 18 candidacy deadline approaching, the FFE debacle has moved from a scrapped proposal to a live threat to Infantino's hold on the presidency.
Cherki dazzles as Man City beat PalaceCherki's match-winning 'genius' display positions the Frenchman as a potential focal point of Maresca's City project, while Haaland extending his perfect scoring record at Selhurst Park to six straight Premier League visits reinforces his reliability in this specific fixture.
Spurs bottom after £300m spend, De Zerbi insists no panicTottenham invested £300m to avoid relegation fears, but now sit last with no goals scored—undermining confidence in both squad quality and De Zerbi’s integration plan. The slow start risks fan support erosion and increases pressure on a manager who has only months to prove his project works.
Star DT Donald unretires to rejoin loaded RamsThe Rams gain an elite defensive force in Donald, whose $30M-max deal ties immediate financial upside to playoff success, while opponents now face a historic pass rush duo in Donald and Garrett at full strength in a Super Bowl-host stadium.
Newcastle Beat Spurs 2-0 for Jaissle's First PL WinA first Premier League win removes early-season pressure on Jaissle in the Newcastle dugout, while the headline's 'lacklustre' tag marks a deflating home performance for Spurs that will sharpen scrutiny on their own start to the campaign.
Villa, City, Newcastle Chase Transfer Sales RecordVilla's €293.1m in sales hasn't translated to on-pitch strength—they were thrashed 4-0 by Brighton after losing senior players. The €22.5m Uefa fine shows clubs chasing records while simultaneously under financial constraints, with Brighton's €50m five-year cumulative profit illustrating a sustainable model that contrasts with Villa's single-window approach.
Fantasy football rankings 2026: Top breakouts by model that nailed Tetairoa McMillan's huge seasonFantasy drafters face a market that hasn't caught up to either situation: Hampton's ADP of No. 20 still prices him as a low-end RB2 despite an elite O-line upgrade, and Willis at No. 151 offers potential QB1 production at backup cost if he starts in Miami. The model's McMillan hit — drafted as WR28, finished WR17 — shows its breakout calls have historically outpaced consensus ADP by a full tier.
Spurs and Everton in advanced talks over Ndiaye and RicharlisonThis represents nearly £95m in business between two clubs with urgent needs — Spurs replace a stalled Richarlison (53 goals in 152 games) with a younger forward, while Everton reclaim a proven scorer they know well. De Zerbi publicly airing Richarlison's repeated exit demands signals the relationship is past repair.
Why it matters: If UEFA's Article 158 complaint survives discovery into Thrive Capital's records, Infantino's March 18 re-election becomes a referendum on whether a sitting FIFA president can run while facing a Swiss criminal-mismanagement proceeding — and the federations who quietly revoked their letters of support are unlikely to reissue them under oath.
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