Global football’s top administrator is facing a new wave of controversy, just weeks after being forced to scrap a divisive private investment plan for the World Cup. FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who is currently campaigning for re-election next March, is now confronting explosive allegations of an improper affair and workplace favoritism stemming from his time as Secretary General of UEFA, European football’s governing body, between 2009 and 2016.
According to a report published by British newspaper The Telegraph in late Friday, the Italian-Swiss football executive is accused of engaging in an intimate relationship with a female UEFA employee during his tenure. The outlet, which did not name its sources for the story, further claims that Infantino abused his position at the organization to secure a promotion for the woman. The report also alleges that upon her departure from UEFA at an unspecified date, the employee received a six-figure severance payout, in addition to coverage of roughly £45,000 (equivalent to $60,700) in tuition fees for a graduate business program.
Infantino, who has been married to his spouse since 2001, has issued a full and categorical rejection of all claims made in the report. A FIFA spokesperson told The Telegraph that the allegations are “categorically untrue”, adding that any suggestion of inappropriate conduct or violation of organizational regulations amounts to defamation. The statement further noted that no formal complaint regarding Infantino’s behavior has ever been filed by any staff member at either UEFA or FIFA, because no such improper incident ever occurred.
When reached for comment by Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Saturday, UEFA confirmed that a departure payment and MBA tuition coverage were indeed provided to the individual in question during Infantino’s tenure. However, the European governing body emphasized that both payments were fully compliant with the staff departure regulations in place at that time, noting that these rules have been tightened significantly since 2016. As of Saturday afternoon, AFP had not received a response from a FIFA spokesperson to its request for additional comment.
This latest scandal comes amid an ongoing crisis for Infantino, which began when he introduced a controversial plan to open FIFA World Cup tournaments to outside private investment late last month. The proposal drew fierce pushback from multiple global football stakeholders, with UEFA emerging as one of its most outspoken opponents. Even after Infantino was forced to shelve the plan earlier this week, UEFA maintained its hardline stance, confirming Thursday that its threat of a future World Cup boycott remains in place, as the withdrawal of the proposal alone was not enough to address its concerns.