Gianni Infantino broke trust ‘through deception’: UEFA, AFC and CONCACAF demand review

New Delhi: UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation, three of the world’s major continental football bodies, have accused FIFA and its president,, of breaking trust ‘through deception’. UEFA, CONCACAF and AFC released an open letter on Monday, slamming FIFA over its now-scrapped proposal of privatising its major tournaments.

It all started after FIFA proposed a controversial plan last month, stating that it is willing to sell stakes in its major tournaments, including the World Cup. FIFA wanted to sell minority stakes in the tournaments to private investors through FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE). However, the proposal was scrapped after massive backlash.

Ever since FIFA, the world governing body of football, tabled the proposal, the body and its president, Infantino, have come under heavy scrutiny over the controversial plan. AFC, CONCACAF and UEFA have now issued a joint open letter, accusing FIFA of breaking the trust of its stakeholders and the global football community.

In a strongly worded letter, the three confederations criticised FIFA’s handling of the matter and rejected the world governing body’s claim that it was a communication failure. They also accused FIFA of not upholding the integrity of the game with its poor handling of the matter.

“This is about something more fundamental: the integrity of the game, and the integrity of those elected to lead it,” the three confederations said in the joint letter. The three confederations have called for an independent investigation, questioning FIFA’s decision to review the episode internally.

“When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned,” read the letter.

Check out the joint letter from UEFA, CONCACAF and AFC:

The statement released by the three continental bodies didn’t mention Infantino, however, it was clearly targeting the FIFA president, whose position has come under intense scrutiny in the aftermath of the controversial episode. While FIFA has abandoned the proposal, the dispute it sparked is unlikely to end anytime soon.