Soccer-FIFA accuses UEFA of 'smear campaign' in fight over Infantino plan

FIFA accused UEFA of waging a "smear campaign" against it and President Gianni Infantino, escalating a dispute over the abandoned proposal to sell a stake in the world governing body's commercial rights, according to a court filing seen ‌by Reuters. UEFA last week submitted an ex parte application in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York seeking permission to obtain testimony and documents from U.S.-based entities for use in potential criminal proceedings in Switzerland.

"While these applications are styled as legal pleadings with captions and docket numbers, they are little more than press releases in further support of UEFA's ‌smear campaign against FIFA and its leadership," FIFA said in the filing. Reuters has contacted FIFA and UEFA for comment.

UEFA said it was considering criminal proceedings against Infantino and ‌other FIFA officials over FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a proposed entity that would have held commercial rights linked to the men's and women's World Cups. UEFA alleged the proposal was developed without adequate consultation with FIFA's governing bodies and 211 member associations.

In a motion to intervene seen by Reuters filed on September 1 by FIFA (AMERICAS) Inc. and FWC2026 US, Inc., FIFA asked the court to defer ruling on UEFA's application or allow it to oppose the ⁠request. FIFA argued that ​UEFA was seeking discovery for "purportedly contemplated (but non-existent) Swiss ⁠criminal proceedings". The world governing body also alleged UEFA had sought to derail the FFE proposal from the outset.

The proposal was withdrawn on July 31 after opposition from UEFA and other regional governing bodies. "Rather than participate ⁠in that democratic process, UEFA issued a press release, the beginning of a weeks-long smear campaign against FIFA and its leadership," FIFA said in the filing.

FIFA further argued that UEFA's opposition was motivated by ​a desire to preserve European football's dominance. MOUNTING PRESSURE ON INFANTINO

Infantino, up for re-election for a fourth term in March 2027, has been criticised since tabling the now-abandoned ⁠proposal, with several countries withdrawing their support for his candidacy. The Swiss-Italian administrator is under pressure from three confederations to resign, including UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF, which represents North and Central America and the Caribbean.

The regional ⁠governing ​bodies have discussed a potential vote of no confidence in Infantino. Infantino, who retains support from the African and South American confederations, has sought to sideline the confederations and appeal directly to individual members.

UEFA SEEKS REFORMS UEFA, in a statement last week, said that it would work with partner confederations to ensure member associations are offered a "credible alternative" committed to reform, ⁠if Infantino seeks another term.

UEFA also provisionally suspended plans to boycott FIFA competitions, paving the way for all qualified teams to participate in next month's Under-20 Women's World Cup ⁠in Poland, the first major tournament that could ⁠have been affected by the standoff. However, the body said its members had unanimously mandated the confederation to pursue "every available institutional, political and legal avenue" to secure reforms and restore limits on presidential authority.

The confederation also called for "a genuinely independent external review" of the failed FIFA ‌proposal, saying: "FIFA cannot investigate itself ‌and expect the football community simply to accept its conclusions."