Infantino is under immense pressure after his foiled plans to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors
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| FIFA president Gianni Infantino (L) and Luis Figo (R) © VALERIANO DI DOMENICO / AFP |
Luis Figo has implored Gianni Infantino to resign as pressure mounts on the much-criticised Fifa president following his foiled attempts to sell stakes in the World Cup.
Infantino was forced to abandon his plans – namely to sell stakes in the World Cup and other Fifa tournaments to private investors – after public uproar last week, with Uefa confirming a boycott of Fifa events if the plan was voted through.
On Tuesday, Jordan FA president Prince Ali bin Hussein accused Infantino of “blackmail” and, under immense pressure, the Fifa boss has called a meeting with senior leaders of world football’s governing body on Wednesday.
Real Madrid and Portugal legend Figo, who stood to be Fifa president in 2015 before withdrawing prior to the election won by Sepp Blatter (who made way for Infantino a year later), has now branded the various actions of Infantino as the “lowest, most deceitful and cravenly self-interested behaviour I have ever witnessed” in a stinging column for the Daily Mail.
Figo, who works as an adviser for Uefa, said: “I could write 10,000 words on the problems at Fifa. But the solution needs only three: Infantino must go.
“I have loved football all my life. I was a professional player for 20 years. And believe me, I have met some rogues in my time in the game. But what I have seen exposed in the last 10 days is the lowest, most deceitful and cravenly self-interested behaviour I have ever witnessed.
“The man who would do that – the man who would try to force through such major changes just to enrich himself and his friends – is a relic of the game’s past and should have no part in its future.”
Figo then listed the “litany of abuses” Infantino has enacted in recent months, including the Folarin Balogun debacle at the World Cup and extending the half-time break of the World Cup final for a musical show.
“Infantino has debased the office of Fifa president that he promised to elevate,” Figo added. “He has lied, deceived and tried to feather his own nest at the expense of the game he is supposed to serve.
“He has lost the support of his senior staff, his closest advisers, the vast majority of people who devote their lives to this sport and even, it would seem, the Fifa Peace Prize winner [Donald Trump].
“It is too late to save his dignity but it is not too late to save football. He should go. Now.”
Fifa secretary general Mattias Grafstrom criticised Infantino’s plans to sell stakes in an internal memo, while ex-Arsenal manager and Fifa’s chief of global football development Arsene Wenger said abandoning the proposals was “absolutely necessary and beyond question.”
The Football Association of Wales have withdrawn support for Infantino’s re-election next year, with the Football Association set to follow. Infantino will now be looking to argue his case and secure his position at Wednesday’s crucial meeting in Morocco.
- Kieran Jackson
