Fifa Rejects Uefa Bid to Probe Infantino

Fifa has hit back at Uefa in a US court filing, rejecting a request for discovery tied to a planned criminal complaint against its president, Gianni Infantino, in Switzerland.

Uefa asked a federal court last month for permission to obtain testimony and documents concerning an abandoned plan to move World Cup commercial rights into a subsidiary known as Fifa Forward Enterprise. Fifa's response, filed in the southern district of Florida, accused Uefa of running a "misinformation campaign" and of trying to sway the race for its own presidency.

Fifa said Uefa's brief contained

"numerous false or misleading statements about Fifa and Infantino with no basis whatsoever, Uefa suggests that Mr Infantino sought to profit personally from the FFE proposal,".

Uefa's filing alleged that Infantino developed the FFE proposal in secret with a small group of advisers and investors, sidestepping Fifa's normal governance channels and leaving the council, regional confederations and member associations out of the process. It put a $4.2bn (£3.2bn) price tag on the stake investors would have paid for FFE, implying a valuation of about $20bn for the business — a figure Uefa said undersold Fifa's commercial worth.

The discovery request targets two Florida-based Fifa entities, Fifa (Americas), Inc and FWC2026 US, Inc. Fifa told the court the FFE plan required sign-off from both the member associations and the Fifa council, and would have remained under the oversight of both bodies throughout. Uefa did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Uefa's submission, according to Fifa, went beyond questioning the FFE process — it also alleged that Infantino's conduct broke legal or ethical rules. Fifa's response turned to that claim, and to the $20bn valuation figure already in dispute, in the same breath.

"As explained, the FFE plan was subject to approval by both the Fifa member associations and Fifa council, and FFE would have been subject to oversight by both groups within Fifa. Uefa’s suggestions that Mr Infantino violated any law or ethical principle are categorically without merit. Uefa, whether deliberately or through ignorance, conflates equity value with enterprise value,".