Uefa threatens Infantino with criminal complaint as Fifa row takes explosive twist
Uefa has dramatically escalated its attempts to oust Gianni Infantino by taking the first legal steps towards making a criminal complaint against the Fifa president.
Lawyers for European football’s governing body have lodged a request with a US court for a raft of documents and correspondence regarding the now-abandoned World Cup sell-off that could be used to bring proceedings in Switzerland, where both Fifa and Uefa are headquartered.
Among the facts it says it is seeking to establish is who at Fifa and outside knew about the plan, and how anyone might have stood to gain from it.
“Uefa and its counsel are contemplating a Swiss criminal proceeding against Infantino and possibly other Fifa officials for criminal mismanagement under Article 158 of the Swiss Criminal Code, together with such further or alternative charges as the developed factual record may support,” the filing, seen by Morning Wire, states.
It adds: “Swiss counsel has confirmed, on the factual record described in this Application, that the proceeding is within reasonable contemplation for purposes of Swiss law and that Uefa has standing, as a complainant, to file a criminal complaint for criminal mismanagement against Infantino and potentially other Fifa officials as may be warranted.”
The filing adds that Swiss law stipulates such offences, if proven, carry a prison term of up to three years – or five years “if the offender acts with the intention of securing an unlawful gain for themselves or another”.
Uefa seeks messages of Infantino, Kushner and Maffei
Infantino has resisted calls to quit since details emerged of his plan to create a new company, Fifa Forward Enterprise, that would hold the commercial rights to the World Cup and other tournaments and sell minority stakes totalling more than $4bn to investors including Joshua Kushner, brother of US President Trump’s son in law.
The discovery request was made on Uefa’s behalf in a district court in Florida, where Fifa’s main US offices are based, and includes communications between officials and Infantino, Kushner and Greg Maffei, the former Liberty Media boss who was acting as an advisor on the FFE deal.
The filing says Uefa wants to ascertain what process was undertaken in planning to establish FFE, value it and find buyers including Kushner’s Thrive Eternal vehicle.
“Third, the discovery bears on the intent element and on the identity of the beneficiaries of the transaction,” it adds.
“Communications within Fifa Americas and FWC2026 and between their personnel and Infantino, Maffei, and other advisors and participants in the scheme concerning anticipated returns to the investor group, personal compensation or benefits to Fifa officials, and the political or reputational positioning of the transaction are directly probative of whether the transaction was structured for the benefit of Fifa and its 211 member associations or for the benefit of a defined group of outside investors and the Fifa officials who negotiated with them.”
Uefa has been Infantino’s most vocal critic since the FFE plan emerged and voted to boycott future Fifa events, including World Cups, until it was withdrawn and assurances given that it would not be resurrected.