FIFA accuses UEFA of defamation campaign against Gianni Infantino

FIFA has accused UEFA of waging a “smear campaign” against it and president Gianni Infantino, escalating a dispute over an abandoned proposal to sell a stake in the governing body’s commercial rights, according to a court filing seen by Reuters.

UEFA last week filed an ex parte application in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York seeking permission to obtain testimony and documents from US-based entities for use in a potential criminal trial in Switzerland.

“While these applications are framed as legal applications with titles and file numbers, they are little more than press releases to further UEFA’s smear campaign against FIFA and its management,” FIFA said in a filing.

Reuters has contacted FIFA and UEFA for comment. UEFA said it was considering criminal proceedings against Infantino and other FIFA officials over the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a proposed entity that would have commercial rights linked to the men’s and women’s World Cups.

UEFA claimed that the proposal was developed without adequate consultation with FIFA’s governing bodies and the 211 member associations. In a motion to intervene seen by Reuters, filed Sept. 1 by FIFA (AMERICAS) Inc. and FWC2026 US, Inc., FIFA asked the court to postpone a decision on UEFA’s application or to allow it to oppose the application.

FIFA argued that UEFA was seeking exposure for “allegedly intended (but non-existent) Swiss criminal proceedings” and that the world governing body also claimed that UEFA sought to derail the FFE proposal from the start. The proposal was withdrawn on 31 July after opposition from UEFA and other regional governing bodies.

ASSEMBLY PRESSURE ON THE INFANTINO

Infantino, who is up for re-election to a fourth term in March 2027, has been criticized since the now-abandoned proposal was tabled, with several countries withdrawing their support for his candidacy.

The Swiss-Italian administrator is under pressure from the three confederations to resignincluding UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF, which represents North and Central America and the Caribbean. Regional governing bodies discussed a possible vote of no confidence in Infantino.

Infantino, who maintains the support of the African and South American confederations, has sought to sideline the confederations and appeal directly to individual members.

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Issued by:

Saurabh Kumar

Published on:

04 Sep 2026 08:23 IST