FIFA president Gianni Infantino apologised to council members on Thursday over a failed USD 4.2 billion investment deal. He failed to provide documents, leaving critics unhappy. FIFA vice-president Debbie Hewitt said, “The man has to answer those questions.” UEFA continues to challenge his leadership ahead of the March election.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino apologised to members of the governing body's council on Thursday over his handling of a proposed USD 4.2 billion investment deal but failed to provide the documents and answers sought by European football officials.
The proposal, introduced in July and later abandoned, would have given private investors a stake in a subsidiary managing the commercial rights to the World Cup and Club World Cup. Its withdrawal did little to ease tensions within FIFA, with UEFA continuing to challenge Infantino's leadership ahead of the presidential election in March.
Infantino also faced questions over the red-card case involving United States forward Folarin Balogun at the World Cup and US President Donald Trump's reported intervention in support of the player.
FIFA will review whether to continue awarding its peace prize, which was created and presented to Trump last December.
UEFA DEMANDS ANSWERS
FIFA vice-president Debbie Hewitt said Infantino asked European officials to submit written questions about the investment plan after they pressed him for supporting documents.
“The man has to answer those questions. If he doesn’t answer those questions, no, he is not fit to be the FIFA president,” said Hewitt, who heads the English Football Association.
UEFA, European football's governing body, has been leading efforts to challenge Infantino's leadership. German football federation president Bernd Neuendorf, one of eight UEFA representatives on FIFA's 37-member council, said the meeting had failed to address their concerns.
“No satisfactory answers were provided,” Neuendorf said.
“We need a person of integrity, someone who can be expected to restore the reputation of the association, which has undoubtedly been lost,” he added.
Infantino opened the meeting by apologising to council members for announcing the investment plan without adequately informing them. The proposal, involving investors led by Joshua Kushner, became public through media reports nine days after the World Cup final in July.
“He said that with some contrition,” Hewitt said.
LEGAL CHALLENGE OVER USD 4.2 BILLION DEAL
The proposed arrangement would have given investors led by Kushner, the brother of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, at least a 20 per cent stake in the commercial rights subsidiary.
UEFA has approached courts in the United States to obtain evidence from FIFA and Kushner's investment firm for a possible criminal complaint against Infantino in Switzerland. Its legal filings question the valuation of the business and allege possible financial mismanagement.
UEFA lawyers have argued that the USD 4.2 billion valuation could be a “fraudulently off-market price promoted by Infantino for his own benefit”. FIFA has asked US courts to reject the requests, accusing UEFA of running a “smear campaign”.
FIFA PAYMENT PLAN FUELS DISPUTE
The disagreement has also centred on funding for FIFA's 211 member associations. Infantino is expected to propose an additional USD 15 million for each federation during the 2027-2030 commercial cycle, on top of the USD 10 million already promised.
UEFA and its allies proposed a one-off payment of USD 10 million per federation from FIFA's cash reserves last month, arguing that the governing body did not need private investment to increase funding for its members.
Infantino's abandoned plan had been linked to an offer of USD 20 million for each federation that approved the deal before a mid-September deadline.
The official election period for the 2027 FIFA presidential contest began at the Congress in Vancouver in April. FIFA elections have traditionally taken place in the year after a men's World Cup, when sitting presidents can campaign during the distribution of tournament-related financial benefits.
Thursday's meeting ended without the documents or explanations sought by European officials, leaving the dispute over Infantino's leadership unresolved.