FIFA Issues Strong Statement Amid Calls for President Infantino’s Resignation

Sun Sep 06 2026 04:02:30 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Football’s governing body rebukes scandal claims and warns against undermining its democratic process.

Allegations surfaced that Infantino’s alleged lover received a severance payment while he was UEFA general secretary, prompting a wave of criticism from European football federations. FIFA responded with a statement slamming the claims as "unsubstantiated" and urging that attacks not be used to derail the organisation’s governance. Infantino’s FFE proposal, which would have created a joint commercial entity, has also been a focal point of the dispute and was recently apologised for. Meanwhile, the Mexican Football Federation, Conmebol and CAF all openly support Infantino, underscoring the support of non‑European bodies. FIFA maintains that it only tolerates legitimate scrutiny and will challenge misinformation aggressively.

FIFA Issues Strong Statement Amid Calls for President Infantino’s Resignation

FIFA has strongly criticised what it calls a "concerted and ongoing effort" to "undermine" the organisation and its president Gianni Infantino.

The statement follows a Daily Telegraph report that claimed Infantino’s alleged lover was given a severance payment by UEFA after an affair while he served as its general secretary.

A FIFA spokesperson told the Telegraph that Infantino “strongly denies” the allegations and that they are “categorically untrue.”

FIFA itself has said the claims are “unsubstantiated assertions and demonstrably false” and warned that speculation “should not be presented as fact.”

Infantino’s FFE proposal, which would have created a new entity to manage commercial and ticketing rights with 21% sold to a private investor, was rejected by UEFA and has drawn criticism from several European football associations.

The Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) president Lise Klaveness called on Infantino to resign, and UEFA has said it has lost confidence in him. European football’s governing body still threatens a boycott of FIFA events, citing a lack of assurances that the FFE scheme cannot be revived.

In its statement, FIFA emphasised that “the Fifa president was democratically elected by Fifa’s Member Associations and continues to serve with their mandate.” It also called for respect of the democratic process, saying that “those who do not have the support of Fifa's member associations should not seek to achieve through allegation, insinuation or misinformation what they cannot achieve through Fifa's established democratic processes.”

Opposition to Infantino is largely from within Europe; however, the Mexican Football Federation broke ranks with its regional body Concacaf to support the president, echoing a statement from Conmebol that any attempt to remove Infantino must involve a vote by all 211 member nations. CAF also backed Infantino unanimously.

Infantino hosted a meeting of the Fifa management board in Rabat, Morocco, and FIFA issued an apology for the FFE proposal while declaring that the organisation would no longer tolerate attacks on its integrity, governance or due process.

The statement maintained that “change inevitably challenges established interests, but disagreement with that change cannot justify efforts to undermine the democratic mandate of Fifa's president or the institution he was elected to lead.”

FIFA remains vigilant against misinformation, asserting that it will challenge inaccurate reporting directly and “vigorously.”