Uefa has declared it has lost confidence in the Fifa leadership as president Gianni Infantino faces open revolt over his controversial scheme to sell stakes in the World Cup.
Fifa was forced to climb down on the plans to open the World Cup to private equity investors late on Friday night after backlash from multiple football federations including Uefa, which voted to boycott Fifa tournaments in protest, as well as from within the governing body itself.
Infantino’s long-term adviser Carlos Cordeiro, a key figure within Fifa, chose to quit in protest over the initial proposals, while Fifa’s chief operating officer said that Infantino “deceived” staff over his plans.
Infantino’s position remains under serious threat despite the climbdown, with Uefa announcing on Saturday that it had lost confidence in his leadership and slamming the “shabby, back room” deal.
“The current Fifa leadership has not only lost Uefa's confidence but also that of many other members of the football family,” it said.
A lengthy statement read: “It is right that, in the coming days and weeks, Uefa will work with its associations and in close cooperation with other confederations to reflect on how this happened and devise a plan to make sure that it cannot occur again. That review should be thorough and fundamental. No option should be off the table. The current Fifa leadership has not only lost Uefa's confidence but also that of many other members of the football family.
“When Gianni Infantino asked for the trust and the votes of Fifa’s Member Associations to elect him as their President in 2016, he said, ‘Of course we have to be transparent. I have been this in the last 15 years of my life in Uefa. You will have to play a part every day in the life of Fifa,’ before telling the assembled stakeholders, ‘The money of Fifa is your money. It’s not the money of the Fifa president. It’s your money. You are the national associations and the money of Fifa has to serve for the development of football and not for anything else.’
“On both these promises, he has failed to deliver. The shabby, back room, opaque deal he hatched and tried to force through were anything but transparent.”