UEFA President Čeferin criticizes Infantino’s approach to football governance — Korea Herald

In Copenhagen, Denmark, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin sharply criticized FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the general assembly of European Football Clubs. He said that football does not need “emperors” and that leaders of football bodies should be stewards of the game, not its owners.

Korea Herald reports on Čeferin’s speech. The UEFA chief compared Infantino to the emperor in Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “The Emperor’s New Clothes” and stressed that comfortable words do not change an uncomfortable reality. According to him, Europe should not apologize for its position on the future of football.

Dispute over FIFA’s commercial plans

UEFA has openly opposed Infantino since it became known in late July that FIFA intended to create a commercial subsidiary, FIFA Forward Enterprise. It was supposed to manage the organization’s biggest tournaments, including the World Cup and the Club World Cup.

UEFA stated that it could consider boycotting competitions under FIFA’s auspices, but later suspended that threat. This came after written assurances in late August that FIFA would not seek to revive plans to sell stakes to private investors.

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UEFA has also gone to court in the U.S. state of Florida in an attempt to obtain documents related to Infantino’s failed plan. The organization seeks to gather evidence for a potential criminal complaint in Switzerland, where both UEFA and FIFA are based. In response, FIFA accused UEFA of a disinformation campaign and an attempt to influence FIFA’s presidential election scheduled for next year.

Al-Khelaifi’s position

Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who has chaired European Football Clubs since 2021, rejected suggestions that he could run against Infantino. The election is due to take place in March at the FIFA Congress in Rabat, and the deadline for submitting nominations is November 18.

Al-Khelaifi said he has no interest or ambition to lead FIFA and wants to continue working at EFC. He also supported Čeferin’s possible re-election as UEFA president next year. Čeferin has led UEFA since 2016 and previously said he would not run after his current term ends.