Follow Us on Google
UEFA is preparing to file a criminal complaint against FIFA President Gianni Infantino in Switzerland over his abandoned plan to sell a stake in FIFA’s commercial operations to private investors.
The European football governing body is examining possible financial mismanagement over the proposed $4.2bn deal, which would have given investors a 20 per cent stake in a FIFA subsidiary responsible for commercial events, including the World Cup.
UEFA has already taken steps in the United States to obtain potential evidence relating to the proposed transaction. It filed documents in a Manhattan court seeking discovery from Thrive Capital Management, the New York investment fund founded by Joshua Kushner.
The organisation also sought authorisation from a federal court in southern Florida to obtain evidence from FIFA as part of a potential foreign legal proceeding.
Thrive and Kushner were expected to serve as anchor investors in the proposed transaction, under which they would have paid FIFA $4.2bn for the 20 per cent stake.
In a 56-page court document seen by The Associated Press, UEFA’s lawyers said the organisation was considering criminal proceedings against Infantino and possibly other FIFA officials under Article 158 of the Swiss Criminal Code, which deals with criminal mismanagement.
The document questioned the valuation of the proposed deal, suggesting that the $4.2bn price could have represented a “fraudulently off-market price promoted by Infantino for his own benefit.”
UEFA also argued that the proposed transaction would have given investors a permanent financial interest in FIFA’s commercial arm at what it described as an unusually low valuation.
“Infantino claimed that the plan would ‘unleash the commercial potential and opportunity that FIFA has,’” UEFA’s lawyers said in the filing.
“In truth, it was a vehicle for Infantino and that small circle to acquire a permanent stake in and otherwise profit from FIFA’s most valuable assets to the detriment of FIFA, its members, and other parties within the football family.”
The European body further alleged that the proposed structure was not subjected to an open competitive auction or independent valuation.
Infantino abandoned the sell-off plan on August 1 following strong opposition from football leaders, including UEFA, which had warned FIFA against destroying or concealing documents and other materials relating to the proposal.
The latest legal move was disclosed to UEFA’s member associations in Monaco on Thursday, shortly before the draw for the Champions League league phase.
FIFA is expected to have about $5bn in cash reserves after the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico helped drive its revenue to a record $15bn during the 2023-26 commercial cycle.
The proposed transaction would have transferred a 20 per cent interest in FIFA’s commercial operations to private investors for $4.2bn, but its collapse has now escalated into a legal confrontation between FIFA and European football’s governing body.
Thrive Capital declined to comment, while FIFA had been approached for a response.
