Open war at the top of football: FIFA accuses UEFA of a ‘smear campaign’ against Infantino

World football has not seen a fight like this since the fall of Sepp Blatter. FIFA has accused UEFA, in black and white, of running a ‘smear campaign against it and its leadership’. The target is Gianni Infantino, FIFA president since 2016. The trigger is his plan, now scrapped, to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors. The row exploded last week. According to BBC Sport, UEFA filed legal papers in the United States demanding that FIFA hand over evidence and internal documents. The stated aim is to build potential criminal claims in Switzerland, where FIFA is based. And European football’s governing body did not hold back, accusing Infantino of ‘criminal mismanagement’ and ‘a fraudulently off-market price’. Two governing bodies trading blows through their lawyers, barely two months after the 2026 World Cup? For the FA, for the Premier League and for England’s players, this is anything but a distant soap opera.

What FIFA is actually accusing UEFA of

FIFA says UEFA is orchestrating a ‘smear campaign’ against the organisation and its leadership, with Gianni Infantino in the firing line. That was Zurich’s official response to the European legal offensive, revealed by BBC Sport on 3 September 2026 from New York.

The tone is unprecedented. Normally FIFA and UEFA settle their differences behind closed doors, somewhere between a Council meeting and a gala dinner. This time FIFA has chosen a public, frontal attack. Nerves? It is hard to read such an aggressive statement any other way.

Remember the irony here. Before running FIFA, Infantino was UEFA’s general secretary from 2009 to 2016. Europe put him in power. Europe now wants to open his files.

‘Criminal mismanagement’: UEFA’s legal offensive in the United States

UEFA went to the US courts last week to obtain evidence and documents held by FIFA, with a view to possible criminal proceedings in Switzerland. That is the heart of the escalation described by BBC journalists Dan Roan and Michael Race.

Why the United States? Because US law allows a foreign party to ask a federal court to order the disclosure of evidence for use in proceedings abroad. FIFA has also expanded its presence across the Atlantic in recent years, which makes the route all the more logical.

In its filing, UEFA accuses Infantino of ‘criminal mismanagement’ and refers to ‘a fraudulently off-market price’. Under Swiss law those words point to specific offences. For now, no criminal complaint has been formally confirmed. These are ‘potential’ claims, in the wording reported by the BBC.

The scrapped plan to sell stakes in the World Cup

It all stems from a project driven by Gianni Infantino: selling stakes in the World Cup to private investors. The plan has been abandoned, but it is precisely what UEFA is targeting when it talks about an ‘off-market’ price.

In practice, the idea would have opened the capital of the most lucrative competition on the planet to outside money. UEFA argues, according to its court papers, that the proposed valuation sat far below the real value. Fraudulently so, it insists.

The structure of the deal, the sums involved and the identity of the prospective investors have not been officially confirmed. Several outlets have reportedly linked the plan to Gulf sovereign funds or private equity, but none of that has been validated by FIFA. Caution is required.

Why England and the Premier League are in the front row

The FA is a UEFA member, and English clubs earn a huge share of their income from the Champions League and other European competitions. An open war between Nyon and Zurich therefore lands directly on the Premier League and on the England calendar.

Take Chelsea. They won the 2025 Club World Cup in the United States, a competition championed by Infantino and fiercely opposed by UEFA and the European leagues over fixture congestion. If the two bodies tear each other apart, the whole balance between club and international football is up for grabs.

There is also Euro 2028, hosted by the UK and Ireland. Its preparation, the release of Premier League players for internationals and FIFA’s club benefit payments all depend on a minimum working relationship between the two organisations. Today, that relationship has broken down.

What happens next? The scenarios for Infantino

Three paths are open: a quiet settlement between the confederations, a US court ruling on disclosure, or the opening of criminal proceedings in Switzerland. Each one reshapes the future of Gianni Infantino, whose mandate runs until 2027.

The timing is explosive. FIFA’s next presidential election is approaching, and the 2030 World Cup, shared between Spain, Portugal and Morocco, still has to be sold to broadcasters and sponsors. A governing body under legal pressure negotiates from weakness.

Our view? UEFA would never have launched a procedure this heavy without a solid file, or at least the conviction that it has one. Equally, FIFA would not cry conspiracy unless it felt genuinely threatened. European football is holding its breath. So is the Premier League.

FAQ