ไทย
English
中國人
The ongoing conflict between FIFA and UEFA shows no signs of cooling off, with world soccer's governing body reportedly accusing the European organization of orchestrating a "smear campaign" in the wake of the now-abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal.
The two powerhouses have been in conflict ever since the media exposed FIFA president Gianni Infantino's scheme to sell shares of future World Cup commercial rights to private investors. Much like the broader soccer community, UEFA fiercely opposed the initiative, threatening to boycott all upcoming FIFA competitions and demanding a leadership overhaul at FIFA.
European soccer's governing body eventually retreated from its boycott position, but continues to weigh potential criminal proceedings against Infantino in Switzerland. UEFA had previously submitted a legal document in the U.S. seeking the release of records related to the failed FFE plan—and FIFA has now chosen to escalate the dispute further.
FIFA Ruthlessly Takes Aim at UEFA
The Athletic reports that FIFA has filed a motion to intervene, aiming to block UEFA's access to the requested documents. In doing so, world soccer's governing body laid out a series of complaints against UEFA's 55 member associations.
"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's filing states, per The Athletic.
"That is clear from UEFA's decision to alert the media before filing these applications, from the countless paragraphs of the application supported only by references to press reports (many of which quote UEFA), and from the fact that UEFA's application suffers from a fundamental defect: UEFA seeks discovery in aid of a foreign criminal proceeding that does not exist and that UEFA admittedly lacks the authority to initiate.
"Rather than participate in that democratic process, UEFA issued a press release—the beginning of a weeks-long smear campaign against FIFA and its leadership."
UEFA, however, was not the only organization to publicly challenge Infantino's plans. Concacaf and AFC, along with FIFPRO, the international players' union, all issued statements opposing the FFE, raising concerns about Infantino's integrity and his future at the helm of FIFA.
The widespread opposition was what ultimately prompted Infantino to swiftly scrap his World Cup plan, which the filing emphasizes was "only a proposal."
FIFA Believes UEFA Is Ruled by 'Economic Motivation'
FIFA further accused UEFA of being driven by "economic motivation" in its efforts to derail the FFE plan, alleging the organization wants to prevent smaller nations from gaining "the financial strength to compete with the European elite."
"If soccer is strengthened in the developing world, global competition increases, which ultimately reduces UEFA's market power and provides more competition for its flagship tournaments," the filing states.
"By raising funds to allow some of FIFA's smaller member associations to better develop soccer, FFE would lead to more players from those nations choosing to represent their countries of origin and playing in their home leagues rather than playing abroad.
"All of this would erode UEFA's dominance over other regions of the world."
Despite FIFA's allegations, UEFA appears resolute in its pursuit of potential criminal proceedings. It also sought the disclosure of evidence from Thrive Eternal, a U.S. investment fund managed by Joshua Kushner, the brother of U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law. The fund had been positioned to acquire a stake in future FIFA competitions through the FFE arrangement.
Kushner was named in the filing, as were JPMorgan and Bann Ventures, two other major entities connected to the FFE proposal.