World football's governing body FIFA has accused European body UEFA of waging a "disinformation campaign" and trying to influence the race for the presidency. FIFA has also called on a US court to reject a request to provide evidence related to Gianni Infantino's controversial investment proposal this summer.
In August, UEFA asked a US federal court for permission to obtain testimony and documents to use in a planned criminal complaint in Switzerland against the FIFA president. The complaint concerns a now-withdrawn plan to transfer the commercial rights for the World Cup to a subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE).
In its response on Monday, FIFA said UEFA's statement contained "numerous false or misleading statements about FIFA and Infantino".
"UEFA has without any basis suggested that Mr Infantino sought to derive personal benefit from the FFE proposal," the FIFA document, seen by Reuters, said. "As explained, the FFE plan was subject to approval by both FIFA member states and the FIFA Council, and the FFE itself would be under the supervision of both structures within the organisation. UEFA's claims that Infantino violated ethics or any principle of fair dealing are completely unfounded."
UEFA claims that Infantino developed the proposal in secret, together with a small group of advisors and investors, bypassing standard FIFA governance procedures and without consulting the Council, regional confederations or member countries.
In court documents, UEFA states that investors were to pay $4.2 billion for a stake in FIFA Forward Enterprise, valuing the business at around $20 billion.
"UEFA, whether intentionally or through ignorance of the matter, is confusing the value of equity with the value of the enterprise," FIFA countered.
The next FIFA presidential election will be held in the spring of 2027 in Morocco, with no other candidate other than incumbent Gianni Infantino Infantino is gone.