US president Donald Trump has cautioned that replacing Gianni Infantino as leader of world football’s governing organisation would be a “serious error”.
Infantino has faced growing criticism after his unsuccessful proposal to offer private investors shares in the men’s World Cup.
Writing on his Truth Social platform early Tuesday, Trump argued that removing the Fifa president could have damaging consequences.
The US president wrote: “Fifa would be making an enormous mistake if it considered replacing president Gianni Infantino for any reason.
“He has done an outstanding job, having overseen what was by far the most successful World Cup ever staged. Without him, the tournament would never achieve the same level of success or profitability again!”
Amid mounting opposition to the under-pressure Fifa president, Uefa and two other regional confederations have begun preliminary discussions about running competitions independently.
Uefa, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and Concacaf, which administers the sport across the Caribbean and North and Central America, have accused Infantino of misleading them. They are reportedly prepared to allow him to step down respectfully and not seek another term next March, while also taking measures to protect their organisations from the developing crisis.
Uefa has previously warned that it could withdraw from Fifa tournaments.
Infantino issued an apology over his plan to establish Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE), a business intended to manage the commercial and operational sides of Fifa competitions, with approximately 20% of it potentially being sold to private investors.
However, the leaders of Uefa, AFC and Concacaf signed an open letter calling for Fifa to commission an independent investigation into the proposal, without referring to the Swiss official by name.
“Leadership in football does not belong to any one person,” the letter stated. “It is not about retaining power or insisting that authority remain in certain hands. It is a responsibility to serve the football community that granted that authority.
“That responsibility is abandoned when dishonesty destroys trust and one person puts personal interests ahead of the wider group that placed its confidence in them.”
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