Infantino Broke Trust ‘Through Deception’ – Confederation Presidents

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has been accused of undermining trust within world football after UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation criticised the handling of a controversial commercial proposal.

In an open letter signed by the presidents and general secretaries of the three confederations, the officials said the dispute over the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal was fundamentally about the integrity of football and those elected to lead the sport.

The FFE proposal would have involved establishing a new company to manage the commercial and ticketing rights of FIFA competitions, including the World Cup. Under the plan, 21% of the company would have been sold to a private investment firm.

The proposal was abandoned following strong opposition from several confederations, led by UEFA, which has threatened to boycott FIFA competitions.

“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 letter stated.

Although Infantino was not named directly, sources told BBC Sport that the statement should be viewed as an opportunity for the FIFA president to resign and leave office with dignity.

The development follows a FIFA statement issued on Saturday that accused critics of engaging in a “concerted and ongoing effort” to undermine the organisation and its president.

The three confederations have called for an independent review of the FFE proposal. FIFA has committed to presenting a report on the matter to the FIFA Council in October.

Infantino, who was first elected FIFA president in 2016, remains at the centre of the dispute as football’s governing bodies debate the proposed reforms and the future of FIFA’s commercial structure.