Европын хөлбөмбөгийн холбоо ФИФА-гийн ерөнхийлөгч Жанни Инфантиог залилангийн шинжтэй үйл ажиллагаа явуулсан хэмээн буруутгаж, албан тушаалаас нь огцруулахыг шаардаж байна.
УЕФА наймдугаар сарын 28-нд АНУ-д гаргасан хуулийн бичиг баримтдаа ФИФА-гийн арилжааны үйл ажиллагааны 20 хувийг “Thrive Eternal” хөрөнгө оруулалтын санд 4.2 тэрбум ам.доллароор худалдах төлөвлөгөөг Жанни Инфантио өөрийн ашиг сонирхлын үүднээс зах зээлийн бус үнээр зохион байгуулсан гэж буруутгажээ. УЕФА-гийн хуульчид энэхүү үнэлгээг үндэслэлгүй бөгөөд ямар нэгэн хараат бус үнэлгээ хийлгүйгээр, нээлттэй дуудлага худалдаагүйгээр тогтоосон гэж үзэж байна.
ФИФА-гийн ерөнхийлөгч албан үүргээ гүйцэтгэх явцдаа хийсэн үйлдлийнхээ улмаас хуулийн асуудалд орооцолдсон тул байгууллага нь түүний өмгөөллийн зардлыг хариуцахаар болсон байна. ФИФА-гийн 2025 оны тайланд дурдсанаар, тус байгууллага хууль эрх зүйн маргаан, мөрдөн шалгах ажиллагаатай холбоотой зардалд 34 сая орчим ам.доллар зарцуулжээ.
“Thrive” сангийн тэргүүн Жошуа Кушнер даваа гарагт хийсэн мэдэгдэлдээ дэлхийн хөлбөмбөгийн улс төрийн нөхцөл байдлыг дутуу үнэлснээ хүлээн зөвшөөрч, хэрэв үр дагаврыг нь урьдчилан мэдэж байсан бол энэ төсөлд оролцохгүй байх байсан гэв. Одоогоор Жанни Инфантио өөрийг нь огцруулах УЕФА, КОНКАКАФ болон Азийн хөлбөмбөгийн холбооны зарим шаардлагыг эсэргүүцсээр байна.
ФИФА-гийн ерөнхийлөгчийн сонгуульд нэр дэвших хүсэлт хүлээж авах хугацаа арван нэгдүгээр сарын 18-нд дуусгавар болно. Шинэ ерөнхийлөгчийг сонгох сонгууль ирэх гуравдугаар сард Марокко улсын Рабат хотноо болох ФИФА-гийн конгрессын үеэр явагдана.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
FIFA is expected to cover Gianni Infantino’s legal costs as UEFA considers launching “criminal proceedings” against him in Switzerland.
Infantino, the FIFA president, has been under intense scrutiny since abandoning his failed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan that would have seen world football’s governing body sell a minority stake in its commercial and event operations, including the men’s and women’s World Cup, to private investors, and is now facing the prospect of litigation.
UEFA, European football’s governing body, has made no secret of the fact they want Infantino to resign and raised the stakes by lodging several legal filings across the United States in an attempt to force him out.
On August 28, UEFA, in a legal document filed in the U.S. and seen by The Athletic, has accused Infantino of “promoting” a “fraudulently off-market price for his own benefit” when proposing to sell a 20 per cent stake in FIFA’s commercial and event operations to Thrive Eternal — a U.S. investment fund run by Joshua Kushner — for $4.2billion (£3.1bn).
UEFA’s lawyers say that valuation was “absurdly low”, stating that it was not “the product of an open, competitive auction” and adding that it was “not tested by any independent valuer.” FIFA is yet to respond to the legal filings made against Infantino.
The FIFA sell-off scandal, explained
Hannah Vanbiber and Reuben Pinder
Although UEFA is targeting Infantino as opposed to FIFA, world football’s governing body is due to cover the 56-year-old’s legal costs in relation to the case. The reason for this is because Infantino was acting on behalf of the organisation and in his role as president.
If Infantino, for example, had done something in a private capacity and not linked to his job, then FIFA would not need to pay for those costs. FIFA has been approached for comment.
FIFA’s annual report for 2025 detailed how the organisation spent just under $34m on legal costs — up from $14.5m in 2024 — to “cover various legal matters with respect to disputes and consultations arising from its statutory objectives as well as legal and governance costs related to investigations”.
It is not just Infantino who has been subject to UEFA’s request for disclosure. Identical legal filings were also lodged against Thrive, Kushner and JPMorgan in New York City, as well as Bann Ventures and Greg Maffei, its CEO, in Colorado.
JPMorgan and Bann Ventures were set to work alongside FIFA on the FFE project and were named by FIFA in its July 28 release announcing the plans.
In response to UEFA’s request for the disclosure of documents, and commenting for the first time since the FFE fallout, Kushner released a statement on Monday to say Thrive “failed to appreciate the political dynamics of global football” and added “we would not have gotten involved” in the plan.
“Money in football has historically been concentrated amongst a small group of countries,” Kushner said in a statement that has been released to The Athletic.
“The idea behind FFE was to direct more capital and equity equally amongst all 211 member countries, providing significantly more investment to underdeveloped nations to nurture local talent, support grassroots football, enhance the fan experience, and ultimately grow the global game everywhere. It was an idea that every Member Association would vote on, not an obligation or determination.
“While we stand behind the motivations of FFE, we failed to appreciate the political dynamics of global football, and the lengths some would go to. Thrive has a long track record of being a partner to all constituents. Had we known what this would devolve into, we would not have gotten involved.”
Despite the mounting pressure, Infantino has so far resisted UEFA’s calls from him to go, which are also emanating from Concacaf, the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
However, there are splits within Concacaf and the AFC between member associations who want him to go and those who would rather he stay. The Mexican Football Federation (Concacaf), for example, has offered Infantino their support, as has the AFC’s Saudi Arabian Football Association and the Qatar Football Association.
The deadline for a candidate to put themselves forward to stand against Infantino is November 18, with the election taking place at the FIFA Congress in Rabat, Morocco, in March.
