Infantino denies claims Uefa paid off alleged ‘lover’

Gianni Infantino “strongly denies these categorically untrue allegations”. That was the response from a spokesman for the Fifa president after a Daily Telegraph investigation reported that a woman described as his former partner received a severance payment from Uefa while he was the European governing body’s general secretary. Uefa has issued a statement confirming that “a departure payment was made to the individual in question”, though it has not endorsed the newspaper’s account of why. The story lands at an awkward moment for a president whose future at the head of world football was already under scrutiny, with the 2026 World Cup less than a year away.

What the Daily Telegraph investigation claims

The Daily Telegraph reports that a woman with whom Infantino is alleged to have had a relationship was given a severance payment by Uefa. The paper places the events in the period when he served as general secretary of the organisation, from 2009 to 2016, before his election as Fifa president in February 2016. The newspaper does not allege proven misuse of funds, but raises questions about the nature of the payment and how it was signed off internally.

The response from Infantino’s camp was immediate and unequivocal. A spokesman told the paper the Fifa president “strongly denies these categorically untrue allegations”. No legal action has been announced, and no authority has confirmed an investigation into this specific matter.

It is worth stating plainly: these are contested press allegations. No court and no Fifa or Uefa disciplinary body has found any wrongdoing.

Uefa’s response: payment confirmed, context not

Uefa has confirmed that “a departure payment was made to the individual in question”. That is the firmest fact in the entire story, and it comes from the organisation itself. What Uefa has not confirmed is the link the Daily Telegraph draws between that payment and a personal relationship.

The distinction matters. Severance payments are routine in any organisation employing several hundred staff, whether through negotiated exits, departmental restructuring or the end of a fixed-term contract. What is in dispute is not that a payment happened, but the reason the investigation attributes to it and what role, if any, the then general secretary played in approving it.

Uefa has not disclosed the amount, the exact date, or the role held by the individual involved.

Why this matters in England

The story originates from a British newspaper, and English football has a long history of pushing back on Fifa governance. The Football Association has repeatedly positioned itself as a reform voice within the global game, most visibly during the 2015 crisis that ended Sepp Blatter’s presidency and led directly to Infantino’s election.

The Premier League has its own live disagreement with Fifa, and it has nothing to do with these allegations. Clubs and the players’ union have been vocal about fixture congestion, the expanded Club World Cup and the burden an ever-growing international calendar places on squads. That backdrop is why any wobble at the top of Fifa is followed closely at Wembley and in club boardrooms.

Neither the FA, the Premier League nor any English club features in the reported allegations.

What it means for the 2026 World Cup

Nothing, in sporting terms, so far. The 2026 World Cup will be staged across the United States, Canada and Mexico with 48 teams, and its delivery sits with an operational committee and the host federations. Stadiums, the match schedule and the draw are not dependent on an internal governance dispute.

The potential impact is political. Infantino is the president who drove the expansion to 48 teams, the revamped Club World Cup and Fifa’s push into new markets and new commercial partnerships. Each of those decisions created firm allies and equally firm opponents.

If pressure on him builds, it will show up in congress votes and back-channel negotiations rather than on the pitch.

A president already under scrutiny

The allegations arrive with Infantino’s future as Fifa president already the subject of debate. He took office in February 2016, following the crisis that removed Blatter and Uefa president Michel Platini, and has since overseen the most far-reaching restructuring of the international game in decades.

That restructuring has not been consensual. National leagues, player unions and a number of European federations have publicly criticised both the volume of fixtures and the way major decisions are taken. In that environment, a personal controversy stops being purely personal and becomes leverage in an institutional power struggle.

Fifa has not announced any internal process. Its ethics committee has the power to act on its own initiative, but there is no indication at present that it has done so.

FAQ