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UEFA Prepares Criminal Complaint Against FIFA President Gianni Infantino

morning · · thread: FIFA Proposes Sale of World Cup Commercial Stakes, Sparking Fierce UEFA Backlash

9 sources across 7 countries

Who reported this

  • Deutsche Welle Germany · Centre · Public · German federal public-law corporation
  • Frankfurter Allgemeine Germany · Centre-right · FAZIT-Stiftung (foundation)
  • The Guardian United Kingdom · Centre-left · Scott Trust Limited
  • Reuters United Kingdom · Centre · Thomson Reuters Corporation
  • France 24 France · Centre · Public · France Medias Monde (French state holding)
  • Telex Hungary · Centre · Reader-funded, staff-owned
  • ANSA Italy · Centre · Publisher cooperative
  • NRC Netherlands · Centre · Mediahuis
  • El Pais Spain · Centre-left · Grupo PRISA

What the colours mean

  • Left
  • Centre-left
  • Centre
  • Centre-right
  • Right
  • A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.

Political lean describes where an outlet sits within the politics of its own country. It is never a position on a single global scale.

Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.

The owner of each outlet is listed as a matter of record, not as a judgement about the outlet.

UEFA is preparing a criminal complaint in Switzerland against FIFA President Gianni Infantino for alleged criminal mismanagement. The legal action stems from Infantino's failed plan to create a subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) to sell a stake in the commercial rights of the men's and women's World Cups and the Club World Cup to private investors. To support the case, UEFA has filed requests in United States federal courts in Florida, New York, and Colorado to obtain documents and testimony from FIFA Americas, FWC2026, and investment firms linked to Joshua Kushner's Thrive Capital.

UEFA alleges that Infantino developed the FFE plan in secret with a small group of advisers, bypassing the FIFA Council and normal governance processes. The European body further claims that the valuation of the rights was absurdly low, citing a proposal where Thrive Capital could have acquired 21 percent of future revenues for 4.2 billion dollars, implying a total enterprise value of 20 billion dollars. UEFA argues this valuation was not subjected to an open auction or independent testing and suggests the plan was a vehicle for Infantino and a small circle to profit at the expense of FIFA members.

This legal escalation follows a period of high tension where UEFA had threatened to boycott FIFA tournaments. However, UEFA has since withdrawn those threats after receiving assurances that the FFE plan is permanently retracted. European teams will now participate in the upcoming Under-20 Women's World Cup in Poland. Despite the end of the boycott, UEFA continues to push for Infantino's resignation. Infantino has rejected these demands and intends to seek re-election as FIFA president in March. While some continental federations have shown support for UEFA, reports indicate that the Saudi Arabian and Qatari federations continue to support Infantino.

How each side framed it

Centre-left
These outlets emphasized the potential for personal enrichment by Infantino and the 'sweetheart deal' offered to investors.
Centre
These outlets focused on the procedural legal steps and the specific allegations of mismanagement.
Centre-right
These outlets framed the event as a broader power struggle for control of world football and noted the lack of a clear alternative candidate to replace Infantino.

Sources

100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.