UEFA has escalated its dispute with FIFA by pursuing a formal discovery process through courts in New York and Florida. As a result, the European governing body hopes to gather evidence it can hand to Swiss prosecutors as part of a planned criminal complaint against FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
UEFA FIFA Legal Action Targets Infantino Over World Cup Deal
This move is not itself a lawsuit. Instead, UEFA is seeking documents from FIFA, Thrive Capital and founder Joshua Kushner in order to build a case in Switzerland, where FIFA is headquartered. Ultimately, UEFA wants charges brought against Infantino and possibly other officials. According to UEFA’s filing, Infantino offered a stake in the FIFA Forward Enterprise without proper internal approval, and Thrive intended to pay FIFA $4.2 billion for a 20% share of a new commercial entity overseeing the World Cup. Furthermore, UEFA argued that figure implied an unreasonably low $20 billion valuation that was never tested through an open auction or independent review. The filing also claimed Infantino pushed the plan through at a hastily arranged meeting, giving some FIFA staff only hours to approve an unprecedented multibillion dollar scheme.
UEFA FIFA Legal Action Continues as Boycott Threat Ends
Meanwhile, UEFA confirmed it would suspend its threatened withdrawal from FIFA competitions after FIFA stated in writing that the sell off plan had been permanently withdrawn. Consequently, events including the Women’s U20 World Cup will proceed without disruption. Still, UEFA maintained that the underlying crisis remains unresolved, noting that scrapping the plan does not erase the damage already done to trust in FIFA’s leadership. In addition, Italy’s FIGC and Romania’s FRF both withdrew support for Infantino’s reelection bid ahead of March’s vote, joining a growing list of federations calling for change at the top of world football’s governing body.
