FIFA president Gianni Infantino has called a crisis meeting with other officials of the governing body as pressure grows on his position. The 58-year-old continues to face heavy backlash, both internally and externally, for his controversial proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup that was later scrapped.
Though it is no longer going ahead, Infantino is still under huge scrutiny and he has subsequently summoned other members of FIFA to an emergency meeting in order to try and restore calm, as per The Times. Staff have been requested to attend the Moroccan capital of Rabat where he is currently located.
It has been another damaging day for Infantino’s reputation with Arsene Wenger and Mattias Grafstrom as two executive members of FIFA speaking out against his controversial proposal. The latter, who is their secretary-general, saw his blast leaked in an email to other staff members while Wenger revealed he was left in the dark over Infantino’s plans.
The Arsenal icon said in a statement: “The recent events at Fifa deserve some clarity from my side. I was not involved in this strategic plan and first became aware of the project through media reports.
“The decision to withdraw the project was absolutely necessary and beyond question, because I firmly believe in an independent Fifa that serves our game with commitment, transparency and integrity.”
To make matters worse, FIFA have also been accused of blackmail by Jordan football association president Prince Ali Al Hussein. He wrote on X: “For months, FIFA has been refusing to help us on any of these or other matters- until it was verbally communicated to me during the World Cup that if I endorsed Infantino it would go a long way to helping our FA out.
“We pride ourselves in Jordan in upholding ethical values. We did not endorse him before and certainly will not now. But the whole situation amounts to blackmail and we refuse to give in to that.”
It is not just those outside of FIFA where concerns have been shared with an internal meeting, of which Infantino was not present for, held in where all but one opposed the World Cup sell-off scheme.
Infantino is facing calls to resign and it certainly appears there is no way back with several key allies turning on him.