London [UK], August 7: A European boycott of the World Cup remains in place, UEFA has said, hours after FIFA indicated its under-fire president Gianni Infantino would carry on and still had its "full support".
Infantino has been under pressure for over a week after a controversial plan to sell stakes in a company to run the World Cup to private investors first emerged on July 28.
The plan was rejected by UEFA and two other continental confederations, with UEFA also stating its 55 member countries would boycott FIFA competitions until the plan was scrapped.
FIFA's management board gave Infantino its backing at a meeting in Morocco on Wednesday, but the European confederation said on Thursday that "changes nothing".
"UEFA's associations were very clear about the conditions attached to the non participation in FIFA competitions," a UEFA statement read.
"First, the proposals to sell off the major competitions had to be withdrawn and secondly, assurances have to be made that such attempts to disfigure the game in this way will never be made again.
"These conditions have not been met. In addition, UEFA made it abundantly clear in its statement on Saturday that it has lost confidence in Gianni Infantino's presidency. That position holds.
"Yesterday's announcement that some people employed by the FIFA President (and whose careers depend on his favour) agree with him changes nothing."
UEFA objected to the process Infantino had followed but most of all to the prospect of private investors having an influence over a sporting competition, amid fears they could push for ever bigger, ever more frequent events.
Infantino intended to create a company, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) which would manage commercial and operational aspects of its competitions, including the men's and women's World Cups and Club World Cups.
The most controversial detail was the intention to sell a 20% stake of the company to private investors.
Even after Infantino confirmed last Saturday that the FFE plan had been withdrawn, UEFA issued a fresh statement saying it had "lost confidence" in him.
FIFA's show of support in its own president and the apology issued over the handling of the FFE plan has also not changed the Football Association's mind about him.
The English governing body is understood to still be sending a letter to FIFA confirming the withdrawal of its support for his candidacy in next year's presidential elections.
The Football Association of Wales (FAW) has publicly withdrawn its support, along with the FAs of Serbia, Sweden and Finland.
Sources told the Press Association on Wednesday night that FIFA's statement had only stoked the fire of the anger his opponents felt towards him, predicting there would now be 'open warfare' at the top of world football politics.
Even before Wednesday's statement, FIFA Council members were understood to be working to secure the 19-strong majority needed to request Infantino to call a meeting, where they could hold him to account over the private investor plan and the Folarin Balogun case.
Council members are understood to remain prepared to carry out a 'governance boycott' of Council meetings - which would effectively incapacitate FIFA - if they are unable to reach a majority, or if Infantino refuses the request for a meeting despite gaining the requisite majority.
FIFA's statement said Infantino had the "full support" of the members of its management board present at Wednesday's meeting in Rabat, Morocco, with the Swiss clearly intent on remaining in charge despite opposition building towards his presidency.
The statement said "mistakes were acknowledged" about the handling of the FFE proposal and that it was "not the intention" for the FIFA Council or member associations to "feel excluded" from the process.
A review into the handling of the FFE proposal was promised, though the statement insisted "everything that was done was done in full compliance with the FIFA regulatory framework".
The statement also said FIFA "will no longer tolerate any attacks on its integrity, good governance and due process and will take all necessary measures to protect and safeguard its name and reputation".
On Tuesday the president of the Jordanian Football Association, Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, had accused FIFA of "blackmail" in a post on X, claiming it had promised during the World Cup to help with the recovery of money if the JFA gave its support to Infantino.
Prince Ali issued a follow-up on X on Thursday morning saying money he alleged was owed had "suddenly" appeared, but said his position on Infantino remained unchanged and he would not vote for him.
A report in The Guardian on Wednesday alleged Infantino and FIFA were key players in talks to develop the European Super League in 2020, to the extent the league was at one stage set to be called the 'FIFA Super League'.
FIFA did not comment directly on the report, instead pointing out Infantino's "strong disapproval" of the project when it was finally launched in April 2021.
Source: Qatar Tribune
