Edi Umoh
President Gianni Infantino has apologised to the FIFA Council for his World Cup sell-off plan – but has been told he is not fit to lead unless he releases all the documents and answers key questions, according to BBC Sports.
The FIFA Council met in Zurich on Thursday for the first time since Infantino’s secret FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal emerged.
Under FFE, which Infantino scrapped within days, a portion of the commercial rights of football’s world governing body would have been given to a private investment firm.
Also read: FIFA President Infantino Rejects Calls to Resign
In a three-and-a-half-hour meeting, Infantino also faced questions about US striker Folarin Balogun’s suspended red-card ban, the FIFA Peace Prize and funding for national associations.
He was said to be negotiating to sell a stake, not just in the World Cup, but all future FIFA tournaments forever more.
A 20 per cent stake, he was going to set up a new company, and the company was valued at just $20 billion (£15 million) when the World Cup this summer made $15 billion (£11billion)
Hours later, FIFA released a video statement from Infantino. He had declined to speak to or take questions from the media, including the BBC.
In the FIFA video, he said: “First of all I apologised for the mistakes that we made in relation to the communication and consultation process related to the FIFA Forward Enterprise project which led to many consequences.
“But what is important to remember is that it was a proposal and in no way a done deal, that actually intended to enable FIFA to invest more in our member associations, as opposed to replacing support from existing resources.”
Infantino said he would answer questions in writing “in due course” following what he said had been a “constructive discussion” with “different opinions and points of view”.
Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt – a FIFA vice-president – said afterwards that many questions remained unanswered despite the “most robust, most frank, most open Council meeting” she had experienced.
“One of the disappointing things is that we didn’t get answers to anything that we had specifically requested – for example getting the papers from FFE,” Hewitt said.
“I asked the question ‘why not?’ – and we were asked to submit those questions in writing.
“I think the man has to answer those questions and if he doesn’t answer those questions now, he’s not fit to be FIFA president – and that was what was shared in the meeting.”
Hewitt added: “I’ve repeatedly asked for the papers to be shared. I haven’t received them and still in spite of the request today, I haven’t received them.
“It is the rationale for why FFE happened in the way that it did, the Balogun case, the Peace Prize.
“The responses to those questions, which I still don’t have answers to, will determine from my personal point of view whether or not Gianni is the right candidate.
She added that it would be difficult to judge the conduct of individuals involved in the proposal without knowing exactly what had happened.
Hewitt acknowledged that Infantino had shown some remorse during the meeting but said his apology appeared to focus largely on failing to bring the proposal before the Council.
“What he really apologised for was not bringing it to the Council. If you regret it that deeply, share it with us,” she said.
UEFA, European football’s governing body, has been among Infantino’s strongest critics and has repeatedly called for him to step down.
The organisation has also prepared criminal legal proceedings against the FIFA president and filed claims in three United States courts seeking the release of documents relating to the FFE proposal.
Hewitt said making the documents available to the Council would be an important step towards determining what happened and whether further action was necessary.
“Those papers coming to Council are a crucial next part of us feeling comfortable as to what, if any, criminal proceedings need to take place,” she said.
Asked whether her position on Infantino had changed following the meeting, Hewitt said there had been no significant shift.
“From my position, nothing has shifted. I’ve no new information that makes me feel any differently, other than we do have a president who is apologetic,” she said.
The controversy continues to place pressure on Infantino, with calls for greater transparency over the abandoned investment proposal and the decisions surrounding it.
