Infantino ‘must go’, says German FA vice-president

Hans-Joachim Watzke, vice-president of the German Football Association (DFB), has called for Gianni Infantino to step down as Fifa president. Watzke spoke at a festival dedicated to artificial intelligence in Berlin, stating that the DFB was one of the few federations not to sign a letter supporting Infantino's re-election.

Three specific issues, according to Watzke, warranted Infantino's removal from his position. Firstly, he criticized the Fifa Peace Prize, a prize created by Infantino and awarded in December 2025 to US President Donald Trump. Watzke argued that creating such a prize independently and announcing it without proper consultation was "madness."

Secondly, Watzke denounced the handling of the red card given to American forward Folarin Balogun during the recent World Cup. His suspension was lifted after a phone call from Trump to Infantino, which Watzke deemed "madness."

Finally, Watzke denounced a project proposed on July 28 and subsequently abandoned four days later that would have established a commercial company open to private investors. He stated that nobody involved in Fifa knew about this initiative, adding that it was "completely insane."

DFB president Bernd Neuendorf had previously stated that it was also time for Infantino to leave. The relationship of trust between the DFB and Infantino had clearly been shattered, Neuendorf said. Infantino remains the sole candidate for the Fifa presidency in the upcoming election on March 18, 2027.