FIFA President Gianni Infantino makes comments during the opening ceremony of the International Broadcast Center, June 1, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo\/Tony Gutierrez, File)<\/small><\/p>\n
2026-08-09T01:14:58Z<\/p>\n
LONDON (AP) \u2014 FIFA<\/a><\/span> has issued a statement defending its president, Gianni Infantino, against what it calls a \u201cconcerted and ongoing effort\u201d to undermine his leadership of the organization.<\/p>\n The statement was released Saturday, a day after a report by British newspaper The Daily Telegraph raising questions about an exit package paid by UEFA to a female staffer who worked with Infantino when he was general secretary of European soccer\u2019s governing body.<\/p>\n UEFA confirmed that a \u201cdeparture payment\u201d was made to the employee and said it was \u201cin line\u201d with regulations at the time.<\/p>\n Infantino worked at UEFA for 16 years before being elected FIFA president.<\/p>\n In the statement Saturday, FIFA accused Infantino\u2019s critics of trying to weaken his authority and remove him from office without due process.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is increasingly evident that there is a concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine FIFA and its president,\u201d the FIFA statement said. \u201cThose who do not have the support of FIFA\u2019s member associations should not seek to achieve through allegation, insinuation or misinformation what they cannot achieve through FIFA\u2019s established democratic processes.\u201d<\/p>\n It said some reporting has included \u201cunsubstantiated assertions and demonstrably false claims\u201d which shouldn\u2019t be presented as fact.<\/p>\n \u201cChange inevitably challenges established interests, but disagreement with that change cannot justify efforts to undermine the democratic mandate of FIFA\u2019s president or the institution he was elected to lead.\u201d<\/p>\n Infantino faced intense backlash after details of his plan to sell World Cup profits to private equity<\/a><\/span> were published. UEFA and two other continental confederations \u2014 North America\u2019s CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation \u2014 rejected the plan.<\/p>\n