Fifa caught sending pre-signed ‘scripted letters’ to secure Gianni Infantino re-election as ‘blackmail’ crisis worsens

FIFA reportedly issued scripted letters to football federations that provided wording to endorse president Gianni Infantino for re-election. Infantino is under immense pressure at football’s governing body after his failed attempt to sell off chunks of the World Cup to private investors. Fifa reportedly sent scripted letters to football associations to endorse Gianni Infantino for re-election Credit: Getty Uefa have withdrawn their support for Infantino with their chief Alexander Ceferin a candidate to run against him Credit: Getty The Swiss chief, 56, attended an emergency crisis meeting in Morocco after angering the world of football with his plans. He remains in charge after the crisis meeting and has vowed to fight on at Fifa ahead of next year’s presidential elections on March 18, 2027. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! And according to Sky News, Fifa sent out scripted letters to football associations in a bid to drum up support for the elections. It is said to have included words praising Infantino’s work at the organisation over the last decade. The report claims the name and signature of the relevant FA chief was provided on the letter, which was intended to be returned to Fifa. SunSport has approached Fifa for comment. Fifa’s governance regulations do not ban the use of internal resources for election campaigns. They state: “Candidatures and electoral campaigns shall be carried out by the candidates in a fair and reputable manner and, more generally, in a spirit of respect for fundamental ethical principles and FIFA regulations. Most read in Sport BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK Jordanian FA president Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein incredibly accused Fifa of ‘blackmail’ Credit: AFP “Candidates shall conduct all campaigns with dignity and moderation and with respect for any other candidate(s), for FIFA itself and for its member associations.” Earlier this month it was claimed by the Guardian that more than 200 Fifa members had endorsed Infantino for the election. But in light of Infantino’s plot to set up subsidiary Fifa Forward Enterprise, which would run the World Cup and be open to private investment, he is losing support rapidly. Uefa threatened a boycott of the World Cup before the plan was axed and have withdrawn their support, along with the FA and the Welsh FA. It’s understood Uefa are preparing a candidate to run against Infantino ahead of the November 18 deadline amid reports their president Alexander Ceferin could stand. It comes after Infantino apologised over Fifa’s controversial World Cup scheme, admitting mistakes were made. In a joint letter signed by Infantino and secretary general Mattias Grafstrom, senior officials said: “We sincerely apologise for these errors and commit to them not happening again. “We acknowledge that errors were also made after the proposal was leaked to media. “With this in mind, we will conduct a necessary review, and a report will be presented to the FIFA Council at its next scheduled meeting.” Infantino has also lost support from the Jordan FA, whose chief Prince Ali bin Al Hussein refused to endorse him and incredibly accused Fifa of “blackmail”. And Fifa’s head of global football development Arsene Wenger also hit out at Infantino’s plans and said it was “absolutely necessary” to scrap them. Comment now