FIFA Accuses UEFA of 'Smear Campaign' Against Infantino — SkimNews
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- FIFA filed a response in a New York court accusing UEFA of a "smear campaign" against its leadership over legal action tied to the aborted $20bn World Cup private-investor venture.
- UEFA filed cases in American courts seeking evidence on the venture and warned it is considering criminal proceedings against Infantino in Switzerland, where FIFA is headquartered.
- FIFA's lawyers argued UEFA's application has a "fundamental defect" — it seeks discovery for a foreign criminal proceeding that "does not exist" and that UEFA admittedly lacks authority to initiate.
- Carlos Cordeiro, Infantino's former senior adviser, called the venture a "bad deal" for football in his resignation statement to Sky News.
- FIFA's filing insists the venture was "only a proposal" pending member-association approval, contradicting Sky News reporting that up to $4.2bn was set to flow from private investors starting in October.
- FIFA alleged UEFA's economic motivation was to block smaller nations from gaining "the financial strength to compete with the European elite," urging disputes be handled within football rather than the courts.
Why it matters: FIFA's filing exposes the economic stakes beneath the legal rhetoric: the aborted subsidiary was designed to channel up to $4.2bn to smaller member associations, and FIFA argues UEFA's resistance is about preserving the European elite's competitive advantage rather than governance. Moving the fight from football's internal processes to American courts signals a protracted legal battle ahead of the March presidential election.
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