Star Metro - UEFA turn up the pressure on Infantino and repeat boycott threat

Infantino may have thought he had bought some time when he received the "full support" of senior FIFA directors following an emergency meeting in Morocco on Wednesday but he was to be disabused of that by UEFA's blunt statement.

UEFA's initial threat issued last Thursday to boycott FIFA competitions is widely credited to being pivotal in the plan being shelved.

Infantino has come under increasing pressure, even from within his organisation, over his handling of the proposal, and calls for him to step down had grown since he abandoned it last Saturday.

FIFA floated the plan, saying it could raise up to $4.2 billion based on a valuation of $20 billion for a new commercial subsidiary, called the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), which it proposed would run events such as the World Cup and Club World Cup.

Although the abandonment of the proposal was one of UEFA's conditions for them to withdraw their threat, they said on Thursday the second one had not been met.

"UEFA's associations were very clear about the conditions attached to their non participation in FIFA competitions," read their statement

"First, the proposals to sell off the major competitions had to be withdrawn and secondly, assurances have to be made that such attempts to disfigure the game in this way will never be made again.

"These conditions have not been met."

Whilst UEFA had welcomed the withdrawal of the plan last Saturday they had slammed Infantino and his "shabby, backroom, opaque deal".

Their tone had not changed in Thursday's statement.

"UEFA made it abundantly clear in its statement on Saturday that it has lost confidence in Gianni Infantino's presidency. That position holds," they said.

Several of UEFA's member associations have withdrawn their support for him in his bid to be re-elected to a fourth and final term in Rabat next March.

A prominent critic of his Norwegian football chief Lise Klaveness is likely to pour more fuel on the fire when she holds a press conference on Friday.

She has like UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said she is not interested in running for the FIFA job.

However, she could be tempted into a change of heart by the recent events and emulate Kirsty Coventry at the International Olympic Committee last year in trying and becoming the first woman president of FIFA.

- 'Abuse of power' -

Infantino, who is at least spending time in a friendly country as 2030 World Cup co-hosts Morocco have publicly supported him, was also criticised by usually supportive South American governing body CONMEBOL.

"The Council also unanimously expresses its concern regarding the repeated unilateral actions taken without resorting to dialogue or to the institutional mechanisms established to address situations of this nature," read their statement.

CONMEBOL, though, said regarding Infantino's future they would not countenance anything other than a straight contest -- if a challenger comes forward by November 18 when nominations close -- in Rabat.

There is a mechanism whereby an extraordinary FIFA congess can be called and a vote of no confidence in Infantino held.

North and Central American football's governing body CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have both been critical of Infantino, but were yet to react to the latest developments.

CONCACAF -- whose president Victor Montagliani is seen as a potential challenger -- had called for "a comprehensive reckoning with this presidency".

Fifpro, the players union, piled into Infantino over the plan calling it "a profound abuse of presidential power".

"Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) is gone," they said in a statement.

"The abuse of power that produced it is not."

Infantino, 56, will hope for better news later on Thursday as the African Football Confederation (CAF) is holding a meeting.

Several of their members have already expressed their support for the Swiss lawyer, who has been in power for 10 years.

South Africa's sports minister Gayton McKenzie has urged African football to resist what he called the "public lynching" of Infantino.

CONMEBOL said it was a shame the hugely successful staging of the World Cup -- the first with 48 teams and spread over three countries -- had had its thunder stolen by the events over the past week.

"The CONMEBOL Council calls for preserving the unity of the football family," it said.

Its plea seems to have fallen on deaf ears.

A.Gagnon--SMC