Uefa is preparing to bring a criminal complaint against Gianni Infantino following the Fifa president’s failed plan to sell off commercial stakes in the World Cup to private investors.
A 56-page document, filed by Uefa’s lawyers in a federal court in the United States and seen by The Independent, declares that Uefa are “preparing to bring criminal claims in Switzerland against Infantino” for “criminal mismanagement” following Fifa’s now scrapped Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal.
The filing states that Infantino’s hastily drawn up plan to sell off a 20 per cent stake in the World Cup to private investors for $4.2bn represented an “an absurdly low enterprise value” and accused the Fifa president and others of standing to gain financially in a process that was “neither the product of an open, competitive auction, nor tested by any independent valuer”.
“Uefa and its counsel are contemplating a Swiss criminal proceeding against Infantino and possibly other Fifa officials for criminal mismanagement under Article 158 of the Swiss Criminal Code, together with such further or alternative charges as the developed factual record may support,” the filing states. Fifa, a Swiss organisation based in Zurich, declined to comment.
Uefa added: “Arising out of the secretive structuring, valuation, financing, and marketing of a transaction that inflicted direct and concrete injury on Fifa’s reputation, governance authority, and commercial relationships to the detriment of Fifa as well as its 211 members, including Uefa's 55 member associations.... this venture was a vehicle for Infantino and a small circle to acquire a permanent stake and otherwise profit from Fifa’s most valuable assets.”
The document has been filed in Florida, where two of Fifa entities – Fifa Americas and FWC2026 US – are based, and requests documents and communications from both organisations concerning the “origination, development, internal discussion, and public announcement of the FFE proposal, including Fifa’s internal communications and discussions”.
Uefa are seeking to determine whether Infantino and other Fifa figures breached Fifa’s own statutes and bypassed its own governance regulations by concealing the FFE proposals from the Fifa Council and key stakeholders, including Uefa, and whether they did so “with a view to securing an unlawful gain for themselves or others”.
Infantino’s plans, which involved Thrive Capital founder Joshua Kushner, the brother of US president Donald Trump’s son-in-law, as a lead investor, collapsed within days last month after Uefa threatened to boycott the World Cup and other Fifa competitions.
Uefa called off its boycott on Wednesday after saying it had received “assurances” that Fifa would not attempt to sell off stakes in its competition again, but European football’s governing body warned Infantino at the start of the month that it was “considering legal action, arbitration, and/or regulatory complaints” following the failed FFE plan.
And Uefa confirmed in a statement on Thursday, following a meeting in Monaco following the Champions League draw: “Having now secured the two assurances it required from Fifa on 30 July, and following consultation with its National Associations, Uefa has therefore agreed to suspend, on a provisional basis, the withdrawal by European teams from Fifa competitions in the coming season, including the Women’s U20 World Cup, U17 World Cup and the Women’s U17 World Cup. This position will remain under constant review and may be reconsidered immediately if circumstances so require.
“While the immediate question of participation has now been resolved, the underlying crisis has not. The abandonment of FFE does not erase the deception, intimidation and abuse of power that made it possible. Nor does it restore the confidence that has been lost. This is not a choice between good governance and football development. Nor is this about Europe seeking greater power within FIFA. It is simply about ensuring that no part of world football – large or small, those with more and those with less – is dependent on the power of one individual.
It added: “The first step must be a genuinely independent external review of Fifa Forward Enterprise, with full access to all relevant documents, communications and decision-making records. FIFA cannot investigate itself and expect the football community simply to accept its conclusions.”
Infantino has remained in office after apologising for “mistakes” over the proposals, but Kevin Lamour, Fifa’s former chief operating officer who criticised the FFE plan and said Fifa staff had been "deceived" by its president, has since left the global governing body.
Uefa has led calls for Infantino to resign and declared that it had lost confidence in the Fifa president after he scrapped his World Cup sell-off plan. The European governing body led the backlash against the FFE and accused Infantino in a statement of trying to push through a “shabby, backroom, opaque deal”.
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