FIFA has accused UEFA of “harassment” and trying to influence Gianni Infantino’s re-election as their bitter dispute over a plan to sell a stake in World Cup commercial rights escalates.
The allegation appears in a filing submitted to a court in Miami, where FIFA is seeking to block UEFA’s request for documents about the abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) venture.
“UEFA’s conduct demonstrates that its application was made in bad faith and for the purpose of harassment,” FIFA’s lawyers wrote in the filing, per Sky News.
The row began with a proposal to bring private investment into a new FIFA subsidiary holding commercial rights linked to its competitions, including the World Cup.
Investors were expected to pay around $4.2billion for a stake of roughly 20 per cent.
UEFA claims the proposed price undervalued some of football’s most lucrative assets.
It also alleges that Infantino developed the scheme with a small group of advisers without properly involving FIFA’s ruling council or member associations.
The European governing body is seeking records from FIFA and parties connected to the proposed deal.
It says the evidence could help it pursue a criminal mismanagement complaint against Infantino in Switzerland.
No such complaint has been established in court, and FIFA rejects the allegations.
The question of what the business was worth has become central to the dispute.
UEFA says the terms implied a valuation of about $20billion and claims the figure was neither tested through an open auction nor checked by an independent valuer.
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FIFA disputes that interpretation.
Its lawyers say $20billion referred to the proposed subsidiary’s initial equity value, while its total enterprise value was above $30billion.
FIFA also says the plan would have required approval from its council and member associations before going ahead.
“With no basis whatsoever, UEFA suggests that Mr Infantino sought to profit personally from the FFE proposal,” FIFA’s legal team wrote.
The investment plan was abandoned in July after opposition from UEFA and other regional football bodies.
Infantino’s senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro also resigned, describing the proposal as a “bad deal” for football.
But dropping the venture did not end the controversy.
UEFA has continued to press for the documents behind it, while FA chair Debbie Hewitt has called for an independent review of the proposed transaction.
FIFA now argues that the legal applications are part of an effort to damage Infantino ahead of March’s presidential election.
Its lawyers accused UEFA of “spreading misinformation” and urged the court to reject what they called an attempt to influence the vote.
UEFA has withdrawn its support for Infantino’s re-election but has yet to name a rival candidate.
Potential challengers have until November to enter the race.
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