The statement followed a Daily Telegraph report alleging UEFA paid a six-figure sum to a woman said to have been involved with Infantino during his time as the organisation’s general secretary.
UEFA confirmed a “departure payment” was made, alongside fees for an MBA course, insisting its regulations have since been tightened. FIFA said Infantino “strongly denies these allegations” and called them “categorically untrue.”
The row comes on top of UEFA’s threat to boycott future World Cups after Infantino’s now-abandoned plan to open FIFA’s commercial operations to private investment.
FIFA’s statement warned it will “not support, facilitate or tolerate” any presidential election process that departs from its official governance framework, and defended Infantino’s three decades in the game.
Support for Infantino has been mixed. Norway and Jordan’s football federations have publicly criticised him, while Argentina, Mexico and CAF have backed his leadership. CONMEBOL called for unity ahead of FIFA’s presidential elections, scheduled for March.
Photo: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images
