FIFA accuses European body UEFA of ‘smear campaign’ in filing related to World Cup sell-off plan
FIFA accused European soccer body UEFA of a “smear campaign” in a court filing on Thursday concerning FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s failed plan to sell stakes in the World Cup and other…
FIFA has accused European soccer governing body UEFA of orchestrating a "smear campaign" against its president, Gianni Infantino, in a recent court filing. The dispute stems from Infantino's unsuccessful attempt to sell shares in the World Cup and other FIFA events. Earlier this week, UEFA requested discovery of evidence to support its claims, leading FIFA to intervene in the legal proceedings.
In a motion filed in U.S. District Court in Colorado, FIFA requested that the discovery process be halted or dismissed, alleging that UEFA's actions constitute a smear campaign against FIFA and its leadership. One of UEFA's discovery requests, filed in the Southern District of New York, seeks documents from Josh Kushner and his investment firm Thrive Capital Management.
Thrive was previously associated with Infantino's FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, which aimed to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity for $4.2 billion.
FIFA withdrew the FFE proposal on August 1, just days after it was announced, due to widespread criticism. Other court filings related to the World Cup sell-off were also filed in Florida, where FIFA had its 2026 World Cup operational headquarters, and in Colorado, concerning Greg Maffei, a former adviser to Infantino and former CEO of Liberty Media. Josh Kushner, Jared Kushner's brother and President Donald Trump's son-in-law, defended the proposal in a statement to Axios, but did not anticipate the backlash it received.
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