FIFA accuses UEFA of ‘smear campaign’ over disputed FFE project

FIFA has accused UEFA of waging a “smear campaign” against the organisation and its president, Gianni Infantino, after European football’s governing body threatened to pursue “criminal proceedings” against him, according to The Athletic.

In a legal filing submitted in the United States on 28 August, UEFA alleged that Infantino had promoted a “fraudulent, off-market price for his personal benefit” when he proposed selling a 20% stake in FIFA’s commercial and organisational operations for $4.2bn (£3.1bn).

The proposal was part of the unsuccessful FFE project. UEFA has sought access to documents connected to the plan, potentially ahead of criminal proceedings against Infantino in Switzerland.

Lawyers representing UEFA described the $4.2bn valuation as “absurdly low” and argued that it was not the result of an “open and competitive auction”.

FIFA has opposed the request. In an intervention filed in New York on Tuesday, it asked the court either to delay the disclosure of the documents or reject UEFA’s application entirely.

“Although styled as legal pleadings with captions and docket numbers, these requests are nothing more than press releases, supporting UEFA’s smear campaign against FIFA and its leadership,” FIFA said in its filing.

The organisation added: “This is evident from UEFA’s decision to alert the media before filing these requests, from the numerous paragraphs in the application based solely on press reports many of which quote UEFA and from the fundamental defect in UEFA’s request: it seeks disclosure to support a nonexistent foreign criminal proceeding, while UEFA itself admits that it lacks the authority to bring one.”

FIFA also accused UEFA of deliberately obstructing the FFE project. It claimed UEFA had threatened to boycott all European national teams from future FIFA competitions unless the plan was withdrawn, in an attempt to prevent it from getting under way.

“Instead of participating in that democratic process, UEFA issued a press release, beginning a weeks-long smear campaign against FIFA and its leadership,” the FIFA filing said.

FIFA further alleged that UEFA’s “economic motivation” for blocking FFE was to stop smaller countries from gaining the financial strength needed to challenge Europe’s elite.

“If football in the developing world were strengthened, global competition would increase, ultimately reducing UEFA’s market power and providing more competition for its major competitions,” the filing said.

It added: “By raising funds to allow some of FIFA’s smaller member associations to develop football more effectively, FFE would have resulted in more players from those countries being selected to represent their national teams and playing in their domestic leagues, rather than playing abroad. All of this would have weakened UEFA’s dominance over other regions of the world.”

FIFA also rejected UEFA’s suggestion that it could bring criminal proceedings against Infantino in Switzerland.

The disclosure requests do not concern Infantino alone. Equivalent legal filings were submitted in New York against Thrive, Joshua Kushner and JPMorgan, and in Colorado against Pan Ventures and its chief executive, Greg Maffei.

JPMorgan and Pan Ventures had been expected to work with FIFA on the FFE project. FIFA named both organisations in a statement issued on 28 July when it announced its plans.

Kushner issued a statement on Monday in response to UEFA’s request for documents. It was his first public comment since the collapse of the FFE proposal.

He said Thrive had “underestimated the political dynamics of global football” and added: “We would not have been drawn into the plan” had we known “what it would become.”