Aug 10 (Reuters) – UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and CONCACAF, which runs football in the Caribbean, North and Central America, issued an open letter on Monday attacking FIFA President Gianni Infantino over his conduct during the proposed sale of a stake in the commercial rights to the World Cup.
The statement, which stopped just short of openly calling for a new leadership, said that Infantino had broken trust “through deception” with the now abandoned proposal, had “placed himself above the collective” and the three confederations called for a fully independent review of what had happened.
“Football’s strength has always been its unity,” their open letter to the football family said. “We call for that unity to be honoured now, for leadership that serves football, not seeks to command it.”
The Swiss administrator has faced open revolt in the football world since he proposed and then abandoned a plan to carve off the commercial rights to the World Cup and sell 20% of them to private investors to raise about $4.2 billion.
Sources close to proceedings said the confederations viewed this letter as an opportunity for Infantino, who is seeking re-election next year, to quit with his dignity intact.
UEFA, backed by the AFC and CONCACAF, have threatened to boycott FIFA tournaments until they receive a promise that no similar schemes will be proposed in the future.
“Leadership in football is not a possession,” they said in Monday’s statement. “It is not about holding – or demanding – power to be held. It is a duty of service to the football family that entrusts it.”
“When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned.”
The three confederations are investigating the possibility of staging competitions among themselves to give players the chance to compete amid the ongoing crisis with FIFA, the sources said.
INDEPENDENT REVIEW
They also criticised a FIFA emergency meeting in Morocco last week, saying there was only one elected official present, while also calling for an independent review which FIFA would have no role in, to determine what led to this “profound failure of judgement.”
On Friday, Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) President Lise Klaveness, seen by some as a potential candidate to replace Infantino, called on the 56-year-old to step down from the presidency immediately. Klaveness has long been an outspoken critic of Infantino.
After quelling in-house dissent at the emergency meeting on Wednesday, FIFA apologised to the 211 federations and Infantino rallied his support among the six confederations that make up the world governing body.
Africa’s confederation CAF released a statement on behalf of its 54 members backing Infantino on Thursday with CONCACAF member Mexico following suit along with South American countries Argentina, Paraguay, Ecuador and Bolivia.
On Friday, as Infantino attended the inauguration of Colombia’s new president Abelardo De La Espriella in Cali, FIFA released a blistering attack on the critics of the president.
It warned against what it called a “concerted and ongoing effort” to undermine Infantino, saying attempts to challenge his leadership must follow the governing body’s statutes and democratic procedures.
FIFA also echoed the statements of several of the bodies that supported Infantino, as well as one from South American confederation CONMEBOL.
FIFA’s statement came after reports by The Daily Telegraph about payments made by UEFA to a former employee during Infantino’s time as the European governing body’s general secretary, allegations he has denied and that FIFA has rejected as unfounded.
Almost 70 of FIFA’s 211 member associations have said publicly they will vote for Infantino with around a dozen either withdrawing previously promised support or saying they will not vote for him. Infantino would need a two-thirds majority in the first round of voting or a simple majority in subsequent rounds to extend his presidency until 2031.
UEFA apart, the confederations who say they have lost confidence in Infantino are not completely united with several Asian nations backing him as well as Mexico from CONCACAF.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by Toby Chopra and Ed Osmond)
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