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| GIanni Infantino has been under severe pressure since his abandoned private equity scheme |
UEFA has asked a US federal court for permission to obtain testimony and documents from FIFA entities in Florida for use in a planned criminal complaint in Switzerland against FIFA President Gianni Infantino, according to a court filing.
In an ex parte application filed under US law, European soccer's governing body said it is considering criminal proceedings against Infantino and potentially other FIFA officials and advisers over a now-abandoned plan to transfer commercial rights linked to men's and women's World Cups and the Club World Cup into a new subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE).
UEFA alleges Infantino developed the proposal in secret with a small group of advisers and investors, bypassing FIFA's normal governance processes and failing to consult FIFA's Council, regional confederations or member associations.
The filing asks a US court to authorise discovery from FIFA (AMERICAS), Inc. and FWC2026 US, Inc., two Florida-based FIFA entities.
UEFA said the organisations may possess documents and witnesses relevant to how the FFE transaction was conceived, structured, valued and approved.
In a 56-page document filed in the Southern District of New York on Thursday, UEFA said: "UEFA and other interested parties are preparing to bring criminal claims in Switzerland against Infantino and possibly other FIFA officials and advisors for criminal mismanagement … arising out of the secretive structuring, valuation, financing, and marketing" of FIFA Forward Enterprise.
The filing of the document in New York came after reports on Wednesday that it has now received guarantees there will be no repeat of FIFA's controversial private investor plan.
This was the second condition UEFA wanted to be met for European teams to withdraw their threat of a boycott from FIFA tournaments.
The first was the scrapping of the original plan, which happened on 1 August.
Additional reporting: PA
- RTÉ
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