Munich [Germany], August 3: Bayern Munich president Herbert Hainer does not want to engage in a debate about the possible departure of FIFA president Gianni Infantino called for by others in the wake of a controversial World Cup investors plan, naming it premature.
"I can't say that now. The member countries will decide. The fact is that there is a great deal of pressure to clarify how things could have gotten this far, with a proposal being put forward without involving all the confederations," Hainer said on Sunday at the start of Bayern's pre-season tour in South Korea.
"It is not my place to judge individual people. In a situation like this, judgments are usually influenced by the current events."
Good that 'farce' is over
Hainer named Infantino's investor plan "a serious breach of corporate governance" as he insisted: "Commercialisation is part of sport, but it must also have certain limits."
Hainer had said the previous day it was "fortunate that this farce ended as quickly as it began, and that this absurd idea has been taken off the table."
Infantino said early Saturday that the plan allowing private investors to buy stakes in a new company overseeing FIFA's commercial rights and tournament operations was stopped.
The decision came after a fierce backlash culminating in UEFA's threat to boycott FIFA events if the scheme became reality, and rejections from other confederations meant that Infantino had no majority for the plans.
Infantino, who has been at the helm since 2016 and is seeking re-election in March, is now under big pressure and Spain's La Liga president Javier Tebas is among those who want him to quit over the affair and other leadership issues.
Tebas fury
"INFANTINO MUST NOT CONTINUE," he said on X late Saturday. "That FIFA has withdrawn its proposal to privatise its competitions is good news. But it would be a grave mistake to think that this has resolved the governance problem.
"The confederations, associations, leagues, players... should not settle for this withdrawal and consider the matter closed. The issue is much deeper," he said.
Tebas said the investor saga was "only the tip of the iceberg" as problems also concerned the suspension of a red card ban for American player Folarin Balogun at the World Cup after an intervention by US President Donald Trump, with whom Infantino is close, World Cup ticket prices and other "unilateral decisions" such as on new competitions and formats.
"The problem is a governance model that concentrates power, reduces checks and balances, and sidelines those directly affected by its decisions. For all these reasons, I believe Gianni Infantino must not continue at the helm of FIFA," Tebas said.
"World football needs new leadership that modernizes its governance, recovers institutional credibility, and builds future decisions by agreeing them with the involved actors, after evaluating their sporting, economic and social impact rather than imposing them unilaterally."
Infantino also backed
Tebas has hit out at Infantino before but despite the fierce opposition from him and others the FIFA president is not isolated. Federations continuing to back him include Qatar, Egypt as well as Morocco, which is a co-host of the 2030 World Cup and the host of the 2027 FIFA congress where Infantino seeks re-election for another four-year term.
Source: Qatar Tribune
