European Leagues president Claudius Schafer believes Gianni Infantino has “no future at FIFA” but says reforming football’s global governing body is more important than simply replacing its leader.
In an exclusive interview with The Athletic, Schafer said the current crisis at FIFA has been building for years because of Infantino’s “increasingly centralised and personalised” approach to leadership and his total failure to consult with key stakeholders on decisions that impact clubs, fans, leagues and players around the world
It was this refusal to consult that forced European Leagues, which represents the interests of 53 men’s and women’s professional leagues in 34 countries, including the so-called ‘big five’, to lodge a formal complaint with the European Commission against FIFA for alleged breaches of European competition law.
That was almost two years ago and Schafer a lawyer-turned football-administrator who also runs the Swiss Football League, is very confident that recent events will only bolster European Leagues’ case, making it almost certain that the Brussels-based commission will open an investigation into FIFA’s decision-making and governance in future.
In the meantime, Schafer is adamant: Infantino must go.
“We are deeply concerned about his leadership,” he said. “We question his suitability to continue as president.
“Here in Switzerland, we’ve had a close view of FIFA and it seems that the influence of the president has grown from year to year. Major decisions are taken without meaningful consultation with stakeholders who will be affected — that’s why we’ve lodged our complaint with the European Commission over the international match calendar.
“Now we have this situation with (FIFA Forward Enterprise) but we also had the case of the (FIFA) Peace Prize last year, which was done without any conversation with the FIFA Council.
“FIFA is an association under Swiss law and in this association you have rules. The president and the board members have to perform their duties with care. This is a legal matter. If you take such a decision (as the peace prize), without even informing the council — that, in my view, is a breach of law.
“And then, during the World Cup we all know about the red card issue (with U.S. striker Folarin Balogun). It was a real scandal. I can’t ever recall a political intervention of this kind relating to a sporting matter. Such acts call the integrity of the game into question.
“That’s why there is no future at FIFA for Infantino. There can’t be.”
Infantino was forced to reveal his secret FFE project a month ago but only after it was leaked to the British media. The plan, which involved setting up a subsidiary to run FIFA’s competitions and then selling a stake in that company to private investors, caused a global storm that has split FIFA’s confederations and put Infantino’s 10-year hold on power in serious doubt.
