The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) has accused the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) of conducting a defamatory campaign against it and its leadership, reports infohub.kz.
According to the BBC, the dispute centers on a legal battle related to FIFA President Gianni Infantino's scrapped plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors. Last week, UEFA filed documents in a U.S. court seeking to compel FIFA to disclose evidence and documents as part of potential criminal proceedings in Switzerland.
UEFA accused Infantino of "criminal mismanagement" and "fraudulent inflation of the price, promoted in his own interests" in connection with the now-defunct Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) program. However, FIFA responded with court filings in the U.S., asking to postpone or deny the request for access to documents until the end of the month.
In its filing, FIFA argues that UEFA's case "suffers from a fundamental flaw" and "legal gaps." The document states: "UEFA is requesting materials in connection with a foreign criminal proceeding that does not exist and which, as UEFA itself admits, it has no authority to initiate. Despite this issue, UEFA asks the court to allow broad discovery into FIFA's formation."
The statement also notes that UEFA "made clear" that FIFA's formation was "merely a proposal" that could only be implemented with the support of a majority of member associations and "appropriate approval from the FIFA Council." Instead of engaging in the democratic process, UEFA issued a press release, which marked the beginning of a multi-day defamation campaign against FIFA and its leadership.
FIFA also claims that UEFA's "economic motivation" was to prevent smaller nations from gaining the "financial power needed to compete with the European elite." If football in developing countries strengthens, global competition will increase, reducing UEFA's market power and intensifying competition for its flagship tournaments. The FFE program, according to FIFA, would have allowed smaller associations to better develop football, and more players from these countries would prefer to represent their homelands and play in domestic leagues rather than abroad.
Earlier, FIFA had developed a plan to sell rights to the men's, women's, and club World Cups to private investors. In response, all UEFA members declared a boycott of FIFA tournaments until the initiative was fully abandoned. UEFA's stance was supported by the confederations of the Americas and Asia, which criticized FIFA for a lack of transparency in shaping the new commercial concept.
Amid the scandal, it was reported that an advisor to the FIFA president resigned in protest. UEFA even devised a plan to hold its own version of the World Cup. Subsequently, FIFA abandoned the controversial plan, expressed support for Infantino, and acknowledged errors in the project. FIFA also stated that there were attempts to undermine Gianni Infantino's authority. The U.S. Soccer Federation called for changes in FIFA's governance structure, publishing a joint statement with several other football associations. On August 18, it was announced that FIFA's Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Lamour, had been dismissed.