FIFA defends Infantino against allegations tied to his time at UEFA

FIFA has released a statement defending its president, Gianni Infantino, against allegations of an attempt to undermine his leadership. The statement was issued on Saturday, following a report by The Daily Telegraph which questioned a departure payment made by UEFA to a female employee who worked alongside Infantino during his tenure as UEFA's general secretary.

Infantino spent 16 years at UEFA before being elected FIFA president. In the FIFA statement, the organization accused its critics of attempting to weaken his authority and remove him from office without proper procedures. FIFA emphasized that any efforts to discredit the president or the organization through allegations, insinuations, or misinformation should not be accepted as factual.

The statement noted that some reporting contained "unsubstantiated assertions and demonstrably false claims," which should not be presented as facts. Infantino faced criticism after the publication of his plan to sell World Cup profits to private equity, which was rejected by UEFA and two other continental confederations - CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation.