September 30 – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has lashed out at FIFA chief Gianni Infantino, attacking the football supremo over the attempted liquidation of the World Cup, the Trump Peace Prize and the Balogun red card scandal.
In a speech to the General Assembly of European Football Clubs in Copenhagen, Ceferin (pictured) used Hans Christian Andersen’s story to criticize Infantino, without naming him by name. “The emperor is naked,” Infantino said.
“Maybe the moral story of this is that convenient words cannot change uncomfortable realities. Now world football has heard some very convenient words recently. Development, democratization, consultation, words used in fact to describe their opposite. Selling part of the future of football does not become development because you say it is development. Putting a fait accompli before the national associations does not mean democratization, even if it is called democratization. because you call it consultation,” said Ceferin.
He once again highlighted how Infantino had blindsided the rest of the global football community and his own organization by secretly hatching a plan to create a commercial entity and sell a stake in the World Cup to a private equity-backed new company.
Ceferin continued: “Imagine one of your senior executives secretly negotiating control of the crown jewels of your club. You didn’t know it. Your board didn’t know it. Your players didn’t know it and your fans didn’t know it. And when you find out, the deal is almost done. What would your board do?”
“It’s time to say enough,” added the UEFA coach, amid applause.
The European confederation has led the charge against Infantino and FIFA, leading calls for Infantino to step down. UEFA filed motions in three US jurisdictions for discovery focused on the FIFA Football Enterprise (FFE) documents and communications between the co-conspirators. On Monday, FIFA responded by accusing UEFA of “bullying”. The world federation also alleged a “disinformation” campaign, although it has not elaborated on what that disinformation might be.
Infantino himself has doubled down and embarked on the electoral campaign. In recent days she has traveled to the Caribbean, Latvia and Azerbaijan, as well as Poland where she presented the U-20 Women’s World Cup final trophy.
But Infantino, who delivered a speech at last year’s EFC General Assembly in Rome, did not attend the EFC’s annual meeting, leaving his general secretary and right-hand man Mattias Grafstrom to represent FIFA.
EFC clubs represented more than 850 of the approximately 1,200 players at the FIFA World Cup. Without the clubs and their players, FIFA has no World Cup and no cash cow to excite broadcasters, sponsors and host countries. Infantino is walking a tightrope and with a support base of mostly small soccer nations, he is fundamentally a fake take on world soccer.
In Copenhagen, Ceferin concluded his speech by taking another swipe at Infantino. “We never forget that football is bigger than those who govern it. We are custodians, we are not owners. Nobody has the right to sell their future. Football, dear friends, is not for sale. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever.”
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