UEFA asks US court for FIFA documents for criminal case against Infantino

UEFA ⁠has asked a federal court in the United States for permission to obtain testimony and documents from FIFA entities in Florida for use in a planned criminal complaint in Switzerland against FIFA President ⁠Gianni Infantino , according to a court ⁠filing.

In an ex parte application filed on Thursday under US law, European football’s governing body said it is considering ‌criminal proceedings against Infantino and potentially other FIFA officials and advisers over a now-abandoned plan to transfer commercial rights linked to men’s and women’s World Cups and the Club World Cup into a new ⁠subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE).

UEFA ⁠alleged Infantino developed the proposal in secret with a small group of advisers and investors, bypassing FIFA’s normal ⁠governance processes and failing to consult the FIFA Council, regional confederations ⁠or member associations.

“UEFA is actively considering legal action arising out of and in connection with the … plan proposed by FIFA,” the legal document filed in a Florida court read, according to the AFP news agency.

“More specifically, UEFA and other interested parties are preparing to bring criminal claims in Switzerland against Infantino and possibly other FIFA officials and advisors for criminal mismanagement under Article 158 of the Swiss Criminal Code.”

The filing asks ⁠a US court to authorise discovery from FIFA (AMERICAS) Inc and FWC2026 US Inc, two Florida-based FIFA entities. UEFA ‌said the organisations may possess documents and witnesses relevant to how the FFE transaction ‌was ‌conceived, structured, valued and approved.

UEFA’s filing alleged that Infantino and a small group of advisers and investors developed the plan for more than a year without consulting the FIFA Council, regional confederations or the 211 member associations before it was unveiled on July 28.

UEFA said FIFA statutes give the council sole authority to decide how FIFA’s commercial rights are promoted.

According to the filing, Infantino ⁠designated Thrive Eternal, an investment vehicle controlled by Joshua Kushner and affiliated with Thrive Capital, to ⁠lead an investor group. Kushner is the brother of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

UEFA alleged that the investors stood to acquire a permanent financial interest in FIFA’s commercial arm.

Former Liberty Media Chief Executive Greg Maffei was retained as a key commercial adviser on the transaction, UEFA alleged.

UEFA said investors would have paid $4.2bn for a stake in FIFA ⁠Forward Enterprise, valuing the business at about $20bn.

UEFA said the valuation significantly undervalued FIFA’s commercial rights and alleged it was not subjected to an open auction or tested by an independent valuer.

UEFA suspends boycott threat ‘on provisional basis’

The 56-year-old Swiss chief of world football’s governing body did gain some respite later on Thursday when UEFA also announced that it was withdrawing “on a provisional basis” its threat to boycott FIFA tournaments.

That will be music to the ears of Poland, which is hosting next month’s U-20 Women’s World Cup.

The nuclear option of a boycott – widely seen as pivotal in forcing Infantino into his humiliating climbdown just days after launching the proposal last month – remains.

UEFA said after a meeting of Europe’s member associations in Monaco that it had “agreed to suspend, on a provisional basis, the withdrawal by European teams from FIFA competitions in the coming season”.

“This position will remain under constant review and may be reconsidered immediately if circumstances so require.”