politics
Gianni Infantino: Uefa pursuing criminal legal proceedings against Fifa president
Uefa is pursuing criminal legal proceedings against Fifa and its president Gianni Infantino over the now scrapped plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup and its other competitions to private investors.
TL;DR
- UEFA has initiated criminal legal proceedings against FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino.
- The proceedings concern a scrapped plan to sell stakes in the World Cup and other FIFA competitions to private investors.
- UEFA claims Infantino engineered the plan to enrich himself and private investors, calling it a 'vehicle' for profit.
- UEFA alleges the valuation of the stakes was not independently verified and the offer was too low ($4.2bn for a $20bn enterprise value).
- The plan was reportedly approved quickly by a limited number of FIFA officials without full disclosure.
- UEFA is seeking evidence in Florida, where FIFA's 2026 World Cup businesses are based, to support criminal charges in Switzerland.
- UEFA believes its 55 member nations and FIFA's 211 members could have been harmed by the sell-off.
- The organization is preparing to bring criminal claims for 'criminal mismanagement' against Infantino and potentially other FIFA officials.
- UEFA states the plan was conceived and developed in secret for over a year without consultation with key stakeholders like the FIFA Council or confederations.