FIFA have hit back in their war with Uefa by accusing the European supremos of a “smear campaign” against embattled Gianni Infantino.
Uefa have led the rebellion against Infantino’s ill-fated plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors.
That bombshell plot outraged many across the footballing community – with Infantino facing calls to quit from three confederations.
Last week Europe’s football governing body filed legal papers in the US asking Fifa to hand over evidence and documents as part of potential criminal claims in Switzerland.
Uefa sensationally accused Infantino of “criminal mismanagement” and “a fraudulently off-market price promoted by (him) for his own benefit” over the now-scrapped Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan.
But Fifa have come back swinging with their own court filings lodged Stateside asking that a court “oppose” Uefa’s application by the end of the month.
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Infantino’s organisation has branded Uefa’s argument as suffering “from a fundamental defect” and “legal deficiencies”.
World football’s under-fire organisers claim they had “made clear” that their FFE scheme was “only a proposal” – and that it would only have been green-lit had the majority of member associations given it the thumbs-up.
Fifa scathingly wrote in their court filing: “Rather than participate in that democratic process, Uefa issues a press release – the beginning of a weeks-long smear campaign against Fifa and its leadership.”
They also accused Uefa of being economically motivated to prevent smaller countries from having the “financial strength to compete with the European elite”.
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Fifa’s filing continued: “If soccer is strengthened in the developing world, global competition increases, which ultimately reduces Uefa’s market power and provides more competition for its flagship tournaments.
“By raising funds to allow some of Fifa’s smaller member associations to better develop soccer, FFE would lead to more players from those nations choosing to represent their countries of origin and playing in their home leagues rather than playing abroad.”
Uefa also asked a New York court to OK a legal document ordering testimony and documents from Joshua Kushner – brother of President Donald Trump’s son-in-law – who was set to be the lead investor in FFE along with his company Thrive Eternal.
They have also asked for disclosure of documents from US money-man Greg Maffei, one of the key advisers on the deal.