Čeferin urges Infantino to resign as FIFA president
UEFA's Čeferin publicly challenged Infantino's leadership, citing plans to sell World Cup rights and the Trump peace prize decision.
Aleksander Čeferin has called on Gianni Infantino to step down as FIFA president, citing a plan to sell part of the World Cup's rights to private investors and Infantino's decision to hand a peace prize to US President Donald Trump.
The UEFA president made the remarks in a speech to the European Club Association. Infantino had been invited to the gathering but did not attend.
"It's time to say: enough. Imagine someone discussing the sale of your heritage behind your back, or handing out a peace prize without consulting you first. Football is bigger than those who run it. No one has the right to sell its future. Football is not for sale. Not today, not tomorrow," Čeferin said, quoted by L'Équipe.
UEFA had earlier planned to put forward Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi as a candidate for the FIFA presidency in 2027. Al-Khelaifi turned the idea down and suggested instead that Čeferin seek re-election as UEFA president.
Čeferin's speech marks the sharpest public challenge yet to Infantino's leadership from within European football, and it comes as UEFA weighs its own succession plans rather than a direct tilt at FIFA's top job.
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