FIFA has accused UEFA of harassing president Gianni Infantino and attempting to influence its presidential election, deepening a legal dispute over the governing body's abandoned plan to sell a stake in World Cup commercial rights.
The claims appear in a 21-page filing submitted to a Florida court as FIFA seeks to block a UEFA request for evidence related to the now-abandoned scheme.
“UEFA’s conduct demonstrates that its application was made in bad faith and for harassment,” FIFA’s lawyers wrote in the filing.
Why Is FIFA Challenging UEFA's Evidence Request?
UEFA has filed discovery requests in four US courts, including one in Manhattan involving investor Josh Kushner’s firm and another in Miami, where FIFA has an office.
UEFA says the evidence would help it prepare a potential criminal complaint against Infantino in Switzerland over allegations of financial mismanagement.
FIFA's lawyers dispute the basis for the potential complaint. Their filing states that UEFA “falsely asserts that Mr. Infantino sought to have a personal financial interest” in the scheme at the centre of the dispute. The filing also links the dispute to FIFA's election calendar.
Candidates have until November 18 to enter the race for the presidency, and FIFA's lawyers argue that UEFA timed its legal action to damage Infantino ahead of the November 18 deadline.
"This court should reject any attempt to influence FIFA's presidential election based on these grounds," the filing states.
What Is the FIFA-UEFA Dispute Over FIFA Forward Enterprise?
The row traces back to a plan to create a new FIFA subsidiary, known as FIFA Forward Enterprise, and sell at least 20 percent of the new subsidiary's future commercial rights to a group of investors led by Josh Kushner for $4.2 billion.
The plan collapsed within days of becoming public.
FIFA's chief operating officer at the time, Kevin Lamour, criticised Infantino's leadership over the scheme before leaving his post. Senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro, a former Goldman Sachs partner, resigned in protest, calling the deal bad for football.
Infantino later apologised for how the plan had been handled and has since proposed an independent review of FIFA's governance. UEFA filed its own court papers around a month earlier, alleging that the $4.2 billion valuation was ‘a fraudulently off-market price promoted by Infantino for his own benefit.’
The filing raised the possibility that Infantino had considered a senior role at the new subsidiary that could have paid more than his FIFA presidential salary.
FIFA has defended the original plan as a way to increase investment in football development globally, rather than as a personal financial arrangement for its president.
How Could the FIFA-UEFA Dispute Affect the 2027 Presidential Election?
UEFA has said it no longer has confidence in Infantino and has been seeking to build opposition to his re-election bid, despite the scheme's collapse. The vote is scheduled for March 18, 2027, at FIFA's Congress in Rabat, Morocco, where Infantino is seeking a fourth term that would run through 2031.
Neither side has signalled any willingness to back down. FIFA is asking the Florida court to reject the evidence request, while UEFA's push for a Swiss criminal complaint against Infantino remains unresolved.
