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FIFA goes all out, accuses UEFA of launching ‘smear campaign’ against Gianni Infantino as battle heats up
FIFA has accused UEFA of launching a “spear campaign” against them post the World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico.
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A proposed USD 4.2 billion investment deal involving FIFA’s most valuable competitions has now grown into a full-blown legal dispute between world football’s governing body and UEFA. On Thursday, FIFA accused European football’s governing body of launching a “smear campaign” against president Gianni Infantino, at a time when UEFA is seeking access to documents linked to a plan that was withdrawn within days of becoming public.
The latest development came in a filing before the US District Court in Colorado on Thursday. FIFA asked to intervene in UEFA’s discovery proceedings and argued that the requests should either be deferred or dismissed.
"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 a filing in U.S. District Court in Colorado, according to ESPN.
Also Read: FIFA scraps controversial plan to sell commercial rights to private investors
The dispute centres on FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a proposal to sell private-equity stakes in the World Cup and other competitions. Thrive Capital Management, the investment firm led by Josh Kushner, was involved in the plan. FIFA withdrew the proposal on August 1 following intense opposition. '
Kushner subsequently defended the project’s intentions but acknowledged that those behind it had underestimated the political reaction within global football.
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UEFA then took the matter further by filing discovery requests in three US courts. One, in the Southern District of New York, seeks documents from Kushner and Thrive. Separate requests were filed in Florida and Colorado, including one targeting Greg Maffei, the former Liberty Media chief who advised Infantino.
The European body has said the documents could be used in preparing potential criminal proceedings in Switzerland. In its own court filings, UEFA argued that the proposed arrangement would allow Infantino and a small group around him to benefit from FIFA’s most valuable assets at the expense of the organisation and its members.
"Infantino claimed that the plan would 'unleash the commercial potential and opportunity that FIFA has,'" UEFA lawyers told the courts.
“In truth, it was a vehicle for Infantino and that small circle to acquire a permanent stake in and otherwise profit from FIFA's most valuable assets to the detriment of FIFA, its members, and other parties within the football family,” the lawyers added.
FIFA rejected that interpretation and questioned the legal basis of UEFA’s requests. Its Colorado filing argued that UEFA was seeking evidence for a foreign criminal case that did not exist and that the European body lacked the authority to initiate.
The governing body also claimed that UEFA’s opposition was driven by a desire to prevent smaller football nations from gaining the financial strength to compete with Europe’s established elite.
In a separate statement last week, UEFA called for an independent external review into the origins of FFE. It also warned that, should Infantino seek re-election at next year’s FIFA Congress, it would work with other confederations to offer member associations an alternative focused on integrity, accountability and institutional reform.
The controversy has also drawn attention to Kushner's role, who has since agreed to purchase the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers alongside Bob Iger.
