UEFA is preparing to consider criminal proceedings against FIFA president Gianni Infantino over allegations of financial mismanagement linked to a proposed sale of a stake in FIFA’s commercial business, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The dispute centres on a plan to sell a 20 per cent stake in FIFA Forward Enterprises (FFE), the organisation responsible for managing parts of FIFA’s commercial activities, for $4.2 billion. The proposed transaction has drawn strong opposition from UEFA and several other major football confederations, which have questioned both the process behind the deal and the valuation placed on the stake.
Sources told ESPN that UEFA believes the proposed sale was developed without following the appropriate procedures and without sufficient consultation with relevant FIFA authorities. The European governing body is also examining whether Infantino could have had a personal interest in the valuation of the proposed transaction.
The matter has now moved into the legal arena in the United States. On Thursday, UEFA applied to a court in Manhattan, New York, seeking access to potentially relevant evidence from Thrive Capital Management, the investment firm founded by Joshua Kushner. Thrive was among the investors understood to have expressed interest in acquiring a stake in FFE.
In a 60-page filing submitted to the court, UEFA requested documents and communications relating to the proposed transaction. The application also seeks records from FIFA’s North American headquarters, Thrive Capital, JPMorgan and Greg Maffei, chief executive of Bane Ventures.
The documents requested by UEFA could provide information about how the proposed sale was structured, how the valuation was established and who was involved in discussions surrounding the transaction. At this stage, however, the court application for evidence does not itself amount to a criminal prosecution or establish wrongdoing by Infantino or any other FIFA official.
UEFA’s lawyers wrote in the filing that the organisation and its legal advisers were considering whether to bring proceedings in Switzerland against Infantino, and potentially other FIFA officials, under Article 158 of the Swiss Criminal Code concerning criminal mismanagement.
The proposed transaction involved the sale of 20 per cent of FFE for $4.2 billion. The business was intended to play a role in managing commercial activities associated with FIFA events, including the World Cup. Investors led by Kushner, alongside Thrive Capital, were expected to participate in the proposed arrangement.
The plan quickly became a source of tension within international football. UEFA opposed the proposal from the outset, while the Asian Football Confederation and Concacaf were also among the major governing bodies to raise objections.
The disagreement was not simply about the size of the proposed transaction. UEFA and other confederations were also concerned about the process through which FIFA’s commercial assets were being offered to outside investors. Their opposition reflected wider concerns over the governance of football’s commercial interests and the way major financial decisions are made within the sport’s international governing structure.
Facing mounting resistance, Infantino cancelled the proposed transaction on 1 August. The cancellation temporarily eased the immediate dispute, but it did not resolve UEFA’s concerns over how the proposal had been developed.
The disagreement had already escalated to the point where UEFA threatened to consider withdrawing European teams from FIFA competitions. Such a move would have had implications for several international tournaments involving European teams and would have represented a significant escalation in the relationship between FIFA and UEFA.
The situation subsequently changed after FIFA provided assurances that it would not pursue similar sales of stakes in its commercial assets in the future. Following those assurances, UEFA agreed this week to suspend temporarily its plan to withdraw European teams from certain FIFA competitions.
In a statement, UEFA said its decision applied to competitions scheduled for the next season, including the FIFA Women’s Under-20 World Cup, the Under-17 World Cup and the Women’s Under-17 World Cup. The organisation stressed that the situation would continue to be reviewed and that its position could be reconsidered immediately if circumstances warranted.
The latest legal move therefore adds another layer to an already significant dispute between the two most influential institutions in European and global football. While the proposed commercial transaction has been abandoned, UEFA’s decision to seek documents and consider possible proceedings in Switzerland indicates that questions surrounding the deal have not been settled.
Any eventual criminal case would depend on the evidence obtained, subsequent legal assessment and decisions by the relevant Swiss authorities. Until then, the allegations remain allegations, and no finding of criminal liability has been established against Infantino or other FIFA officials.
