LONDON
\nFIFA warned against what it called \u200ca \u201cconcerted and ongoing effort\u201d to undermine President Gianni Infantino, saying attempts to challenge his leadership must follow the governing body\u2019s statutes and democratic procedures.
\nThe statement came amid an increasingly bitter standoff over Infantino\u2019s leadership following the collapse of his proposal to raise about $4.2 billion by selling a stake in the commercial rights of the World Cup and other tournaments.
\nThe plan triggered criticism from UEFA, national associations and senior FIFA officials, led to calls for Infantino to resign and prompted a crisis meeting in Morocco this week at which FIFA\u2019s leadership reaffirmed its support for the president. FIFA did not identify those it said were seeking to undermine Infantino or specify \u200cwhich reports \u200cor allegations it was referring to.
\nThe statement followed reports by \u200cThe Daily Telegraph about payments made by UEFA to a former employee during Infantino\u2019s time as the European governing body\u2019s general secretary, allegations he has denied and that FIFA has rejected as unfounded.
\nFIFA \u200cadded it would not support, facilitate or tolerate any process concerning the election of \u200cits president that was inconsistent with its statutes, democratic procedures and governance framework. \u201cThe \u200cFIFA president was democratically elected by FIFA\u2019s member associations and continues to serve with their mandate,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose who do not have the support of FIFA\u2019s Member Associations should not seek to achieve through allegation, insinuation or misinformation what they cannot achieve through FIFA\u2019s established democratic processes,\u201d FIFA said. It said recent reporting had included \u201cunsubstantiated assertions and demonstrably false claims\u201d concerning FIFA and its president, adding that it \u200cwould challenge inaccurate or misleading reports \u201cdirectly and vigorously.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following a crisis meeting in Morocco on Wednesday, FIFA apologized to its 211 member associations for mistakes in the handling of the proposal and said \u200cits leadership had reaffirmed its full support for Infantino. The fallout has cast a shadow over Infantino\u2019s bid for a fourth term at the FIFA Congress in Morocco in March. No clear candidate to challenge him has yet emerged.
\nEuropean soccer\u2019s governing body UEFA has said it no longer has confidence in Infantino, while Norwegian Football Federation President Lise Klaveness called for him to resign on Friday, saying he no longer had the institutional trust required to govern FIFA.
\nBut Infantino continues to enjoy substantial support among FIFA\u2019s 211 members. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) unanimously backed his leadership on Thursday, while South America\u2019s CONMEBOL rejected any attempt to oust him that did not involve a vote of all FIFA members.
\nMexico\u2019s football federation (FMF) also backed Infantino, despite its regional confederation CONCACAF having called for a \u201ccomprehensive reckoning\u201d with his presidency. \u201cThe FMF will neither recognize nor approve any process convened outside of that institutional framework,\u201d the Mexican federation said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON FIFA warned against what it called \u200ca \u201cconcerted and ongoing effort\u201d to undermine President Gianni Infantino, saying attempts to challenge his leadership must follow the governing body\u2019s statutes and democratic procedures. The statement came amid an increasingly bitter standoff over Infantino\u2019s leadership following the collapse of his proposal to raise about $4.2 billion by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-561041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n