FIFA President Gianni Infantino has strongly denied allegations that UEFA made a severance payment to a female employee who allegedly had a relationship with him during his time as the organization's general-secretary. The claims were first reported by the Daily Telegraph.

In a statement to the Daily Telegraph, a spokesman for Infantino said: "FIFA President Gianni Infantino strongly denies these allegations, and they are categorically untrue. Any insinuation of inappropriate conduct or violation of statutes or regulations is defamatory." The spokesman added that no employee at UEFA or FIFA has ever complained about Infantino's behavior because no incident ever occurred.

However, UEFA issued a statement confirming that "a departure payment was made to the individual in question," along with fees for an MBA course, which it said was "in line" with regulations. The Daily Telegraph reported on Friday that UEFA had paid a six-figure sum to the woman, who allegedly had an affair with the married Infantino during his tenure as general-secretary.

FIFA did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera's request for comment. The allegations come as the 56-year-old Italian-Swiss lawyer faces a career-threatening backlash over his aborted plans to sell off stakes in FIFA competitions to private investors.

UEFA, where Infantino served as general-secretary from 2009 to 2016, is now in open conflict with FIFA. On Thursday, UEFA reiterated its statement from last Saturday that it no longer has "confidence" in Infantino. UEFA also repeated its threat of boycotting the World Cups, and the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) called for Infantino to step down immediately.

NFF president Lise Klaveness said on Friday: "[The NFF] are going to ask the FIFA president to resign now." However, the football associations of Mexico and Argentina have expressed support for the FIFA chief, following the Confederation of African Football's unanimous backing of Infantino's leadership on Thursday.

South America's CONMEBOL, meanwhile, expressed concerns over the "repeated unilateral actions taken without resorting to dialogue." Infantino is seeking a fourth term in the upcoming election in Rabat next March. He is currently the only candidate, with the nomination deadline set for November 18.