UEFA Sends Infantino 42 Questions, Including Why He Received £1.3m Extra Pay

• UEFA has sent FIFA an eight-page letter with 42 questions on 12 topics about Gianni Infantino’s presidency, and has given FIFA two weeks to answer.
• The questions cover 10 alleged conflicts of interest, including his relationship with Donald Trump, a £1.3m payment in 2024 on top of his £4m salary, and a proposed stake sale in World Cups.
• UEFA secretary general Theodore Theodoridis wrote that the explanations given so far “have not begun satisfactorily to address a number of fundamental questions”.

UEFA Wants Answers Before the Next FIFA Council Meeting

UEFA has turned up the pressure on Gianni Infantino with a letter that asks 42 questions about how he runs FIFA. Sky Sports News has seen the letter, which UEFA secretary general Theodore Theodoridis wrote on Monday to his FIFA counterpart Mattias Grafstrom. It runs to eight pages, covers 12 topics and lists 10 alleged conflicts of interest.

Theodoridis gives FIFA two weeks to respond to the concerns that European football leaders raised at the FIFA Council meeting in Zurich last Thursday. He begins by noting that Infantino acknowledged at that meeting that mistakes had been made, but says the explanations given “have not begun satisfactorily to address a number of fundamental questions”. UEFA has also asked for an immediate audio recording of the meeting.

The letter closes off any wait. “These questions require answers now,” Theodoridis writes, and they “cannot be deferred until the next meeting of the FIFA Council”.

The Money Questions

The first section deals with FIFA Forward Enterprise, the proposal to sell a stake in FIFA tournaments. UEFA asks: “Could FIFA explain why an agreement granting exclusivity to Thrive Capital was signed without prior consultation of the FIFA Council?” It also asks how FIFA justified a $20bn valuation when this summer’s World Cup generated revenues of $15bn, and why member associations were to receive development funding to back the plan when FIFA already holds $6bn in cash reserves. After the plan was withdrawn, FIFA proposed raising that funding to $25m per association from its own reserves, and UEFA asks why it did not look at that before the sale was proposed.

On pay, UEFA asks why Infantino received a £1.3m payment in 2024 on top of his £4m FIFA salary. The letter refers to media reports based on filings by FIFA’s US World Cup organising entity. “Could FIFA clarify the nature, amount and basis of these payments, why they were not disclosed in FIFA’s annual report, and whether they were reviewed and approved by the competent FIFA bodies?” it asks. It also wants to know if the payment was treated as taxable income and whether the tax was paid.

UEFA also asks for a detailed account of the FIFA president’s use of private aircraft, including a jet provided by Qatar Airways, and the cost of his accommodation in Qatar and the United States.

The Trump Questions

The conflicts section lists the FIFA Peace Prize given to Donald Trump, which was not put to the FIFA Council. It lists a reported seven-year lease of office space in Trump Tower in New York worth about $4m, involving Eric Trump, for premises reportedly unused for much of the year. It lists the Thrive Capital deal, with a firm led by Joshua Kushner, a member of the US president’s family, and the sponsorship arrangement with Kalshi, a company reportedly advised and partly owned by Donald Trump Jr.

On the Balogun disciplinary case, UEFA notes that Trump publicly acknowledged calling Infantino to request a review. “What exactly did he ask him to do, and what was his response?” the letter asks, and it wants to know whether the case would have been reviewed without that call.

The letter also raises the last-minute move of the World Cup draw to the JFK/Donald Trump Center in Washington, DC instead of Las Vegas, the involvement of the president’s daughter and grandson in the Club World Cup draw, and a $75m investment in Palestine announced at the president’s Board of Peace meeting apparently without approval sought from the FIFA Finance Committee or Council.

Half-Time, VIPs and the Election

Some of the questions are about the World Cup final itself. UEFA says the half-time interval “lasted 27 minutes” without a request to the IFAB or consultation with the FIFA Council. It asks for the full list of guests in the VIP and VVIP sections, “including their names, positions and the reasons for their invitations”, and why many guests were apparently given priority over presidents of member associations.

UEFA also questions whether next year’s FIFA presidential election will be fair. It raises concerns about the independence of the chair of the FIFA Electoral Committee, Mr Chiomento.

UEFA has not yet put forward a candidate to challenge Infantino in next March’s election, and the deadline is 18 November. Sky reports that Arsene Wenger would be a popular choice, but FIFA’s global football development chief has made no comment about a challenge. FIFA has been contacted for comment.

WRITTEN BY

Jarrod

Jarrod Partridge is the Founder of Futbol Chronicle and an accredited journalist with over 30 years of experience following international football. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, Jarrod has covered matches at stadiums around the world, bringing first-hand insight to every match report, player profile, and tactical analysis he writes.

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