Gianni Infantino accused of ‘breaking trust through deception’ as Uefa and other football bosses pen furious letter

GIANNI INFANTINO has been accused of “breaking trust through deception” in a damning letter from football bosses. Uefa and their Asian and North American counterparts, the AFC and Concacaf, teamed up to pen the furious statement taking aim at the Fifa president and want him to resign. Gianni Infantino was targeted by a damning letter from Uefa, the AFC and Concacaf Credit: AFP Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin is a co-signatory on the open letter Credit: Alamy The confederations are also understood to have begun preliminary talks about organising rival tournaments for their players in the wake of Infantino’s radical plans. Infantino has come under heavy fire since his controversial plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! He made an embarrassing U-turn and ditched his money-grabbing scheme in a desperate attempt to cling on to his power and position. Uefa and the other confederations were willing to boycott the World Cup and have even started discussions to launch rival tournaments to “paralyse Fifa”. And now they have co-signed the letter which directly hits out at Infantino’s leadership. The lengthy post – entitled an “open letter to the football family” – was signed by the Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin, AFC chief Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa and Concacaf boss Victor Montagliani plus their organisations’ general secretaries. It says: “This is about something more fundamental: the integrity of the game, and the integrity of those elected to lead it. “Leadership in football is not a possession. It is not about holding – or demanding – power to be held. Most read in Football BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK Infantino is being pressured to resign and not go for re-election as Fifa president in March Credit: Getty “It is a duty of service to the football family that entrusts it. “When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned. “Fifa’s recent letter to its Vice-Presidents and 211 Member Associations acknowledges that mistakes were made in the process. “It treats this as a failure of communication, when what football witnessed was a failure of judgment. “A proposal advanced on a compressed timeline, without meaningful consultation, and pushed toward a deadline before Member Associations could properly review its terms is not the product of an oversight — it is the product of a design intended to limit scrutiny. “It did not acknowledge that the proposal itself was inherently wrong. “There remains no recognition that attempting to sell an interest in the Fifa World Cup was a profound failure of judgment — not just a procedural misstep, but a fundamental breach of trust with the very institutions Fifa exists to serve.” The letter also called for an independent commission to conduct the review into Fifa’s recent conduct – not an internal Fifa committee. It went on to point out that only one election official was part of the Fifa crisis meeting in Morocco last week – with no Fifa Council members or member associations invited to contribute. The letter continued: “This recent meeting, where a select number of members of the Fifa Management Committee—not the full Committee—were summoned abroad, rather than leadership going to Zurich to address the heart of Fifa, its staff, only reinforces these concerns andrepresents a continuation of the very pattern of conduct that brought us to this moment. “It is not the conduct of a custodian of the game, but of one who believes the game is answerable to him. “There is silence where there should be accountability, distance where there should be openness. “These are not the qualities football deserves in its leadership. “That is why we have taken this stance: not lightly and not alone, but together, and out of duty to the game we serve. “Football’s strength has always been its unity. We call for that unity to be honoured now, for leadership that serves football, not seeks to command it.” SunSport understands Concacaf, Uefa and the AFC are pressurising Infantino to resign with immediate effect and not run for re-election for a fourth term in March. LaLiga chief Javier Tebas, meanwhile, insists the Infantino era is “over” and he is “destroying the very essence of football”. Tebas fumed in an interview with Le Monde: “For me, Gianni Infantino’s time has long since passed. “Gianni Infantino is not someone who contributes to the growth of football. “On the contrary, his projects are destroying the very essence of the sport: the national leagues. “Football is not limited to the elite. For me, the Infantino era is over. “What remains to be seen is when that will take effect and how the succession will unfold. “I hope it is not just a matter of swapping out some people for others, but of a genuine overhaul.” Fifa released their own strong statement last weekend and claimed there was a “concerted and ongoing effort” to undermine Infantino. The governing body said: “The Fifa President was democratically elected by Fifa’s Member Associations and continues to serve with their mandate. “It is increasingly evident that there is a concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine Fifa and its president. “Those who do not have the support of Fifa’s Member Associations should not seek to achieve through allegation, insinuation or misinformation what they cannot achieve through Fifa’s established democratic processes. “Fifa welcomes legitimate scrutiny. But scrutiny is not a licence to distort facts, amplify unsubstantiated allegations or manufacture distractions designed to undermine progress.” But as well as the scandalous attempt to privatise the World Cup, it has also been revealed in bombshell documents that Infantino was actually plotting to partner with the rebel breakaway European Super League – and it could even have been called the Fifa Super League. Also, The Telegraph reported on Friday that Uefa paid off a six-figure sum to an alleged mistress of married Infantino while he was general secretary. And SunSport revealed his latest blow that even his hometown club Zug 94 in Switzerland are refusing to back his beleaguered leadership. Comment now