Uefa Files Criminal Complaint Against Infantino Over Fifa Investment
Uefa has taken its power struggle with Fifa into explosive new territory, preparing a criminal complaint against Gianni Infantino over what it calls “criminal mismanagement” of his failed Fifa Forward Enterprise project.
The European governing body has gone to the courts in the United States, using powerful discovery tools to hunt for documents and correspondence linked to the plan. At the heart of the dispute is a proposal that would have seen 20% of Fifa’s future tournaments sold off for $4.2bn – a deal Uefa says implied an “absurdly low” enterprise value of around $20bn.
Criminal claims in Switzerland on the table
In legal filings, Uefa states that it and other unnamed interested parties are “preparing to bring criminal claims in Switzerland against Infantino and possible other Fifa officials and advisors for criminal mismanagement under Article 158 of the Swiss Criminal Code”.
That is a direct shot at the Fifa president’s stewardship of the organisation’s commercial future. Article 158 covers breaches of duty in the management of assets and can carry serious criminal consequences.
To build its case, Uefa has turned to a “section 1782” application in the US – a legal mechanism that allows parties involved in foreign proceedings, or those reasonably contemplating them, to obtain discovery from individuals or entities based in the United States. In plain terms: Uefa wants American courts to compel the release of documents it believes will show how the deal was conceived, valued and pushed.
‘Absurdly low’ valuation under scrutiny
The court papers zero in on the numbers. Uefa’s lawyers highlight what they describe as an “absurdly low enterprise value of only approximately $20bn” for Fifa implied by the proposal to sell a 20% stake in its competitions for $4.2bn.
According to the filings, that figure was “neither the product of an open, competitive auction, nor tested by any independent valuer”. That accusation goes to the core of Uefa’s complaint: that Fifa’s leadership, led by Infantino, was prepared to sign off on a deal of vast strategic importance without a transparent process or independent scrutiny.
The plan, which never came to fruition, would have represented a seismic shift in how Fifa monetises its flagship tournaments. Uefa’s move suggests it believes the project did not simply misjudge the market, but may have breached legal duties owed by Fifa’s top officials.
Preservation orders and a widening net
The legal offensive has been building. Earlier this month, Uefa’s lawyers wrote directly to Infantino and Fifa instructing them to “take immediate steps to identify, locate, and preserve all documents and electronically stored information described in this notice that are in your or Fifa’s possession, custody, or control”.
The letter did not stop at the president. Fourteen executives were named and told to “specifically preserve all such materials in their possession, custody, or control”. That kind of language signals that Uefa expects a broad paper trail – emails, memos, presentations, valuations, internal messages – and wants to ensure nothing disappears before Swiss authorities can examine it.
The section 1782 request in the US is designed to complement that preservation push, reaching into any American-based entities or advisers who may have been involved in shaping or pitching the Fifa Forward Enterprise scheme.
Fifa has been contacted for comment. The next move belongs to the courts – and to prosecutors in Switzerland, who may soon be asked to decide whether football’s most powerful figure and his inner circle should face a criminal investigation over how they tried to sell the game’s future.
