UEFA Stands Firm: Boycott of FIFA Competitions Remains in Effect
European football's governing body rejects FIFA president's apology and announces independent assessment of World Cup sale plans.
European football's governing body rejects FIFA president's apology and announces independent assessment of World Cup sale plans.
The crisis in world football is deepening. The European Football Association (UEFA) confirmed on Thursday that it remains committed to its decision to boycott FIFA competitions, dismissing a written apology from president Gianni Infantino as insufficient. This stance calls into question the participation of European teams in the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, which is scheduled to take place next month in Poland.
According to The Guardian, UEFA plans to commission an independent assessment of FIFA's plans to sell future World Cup revenues to a private investment firm. There are suspicions that Infantino agreed to sell stakes at below market value.
In a sharp statement to Sky Sports, UEFA made it clear that it does not accept Infantino's apology. "UEFA's associations were very clear about the conditions related to non-participation in FIFA competitions. First, proposals to sell off major competitions had to be withdrawn, and second, guarantees must be given that such attempts to disfigure the game in this way will never be repeated," the statement read.
UEFA added that these conditions have not been met and reminded that they had already clearly expressed their loss of confidence in Infantino's presidency on Saturday. That stance, they emphasized, still stands. Commenting on the joint statement of support for Infantino that followed emergency talks in Morocco on Wednesday, UEFA said: "Yesterday's announcement that some people employed by the FIFA president (and whose careers depend on his favor) agree with him changes nothing."
On the other hand, FIFA, in a letter addressed to its council and signed by Infantino and Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom, announced that the board members who attended the meeting in Rabat reaffirm their full support for the president. However, Sky News has learned that key leaders of the organization were not present at that meeting. Among those absent were Chief Football Officer Jill Ellis, Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger, Chief Women's Football Officer Sarai Bareman, and Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour.
On Tuesday, Infantino sent a written apology for what he called a "mistake" to all 211 FIFA member associations, but this move does not appear to have eased tensions with the most influential continental confederation.
UEFA's boycott, which includes all national associations under its umbrella, casts a shadow over the upcoming U-20 Women's World Cup in Poland. If the conflict is not resolved in the coming weeks, the tournament could take place without European teams, which would be an unprecedented precedent in modern football history. UEFA's move to hire independent experts to assess the value of FIFA's commercial plans suggests that pressure on Infantino will not ease but is entering a new, more detailed phase of scrutiny over his business decisions.
