Opinions, analysis and commentary
A new allegation alone would rarely finish a FIFA presidency, and this one probably won’t either. What makes it dangerous is timing: it lands during the most damaging week Infantino has faced in a decade, alongside a collapsed commercial deal, two federations walking away from their nomination pledges, and a Council push for an emergency meeting. None of the allegations have been proven, and FIFA denies them outright. Personal conduct claims plus a governance crisis, stacked together, is a genuinely different problem than either alone.
A report published on August 8 alleged that UEFA paid a six-figure departure sum to a female employee, with claims the two had a personal relationship during Infantino’s time as UEFA general secretary between 2009 and 2016. The employee was described as having been promoted into a more senior, better-paid role, a promotion the report says then-UEFA president Michel Platini questioned at the time.
When she eventually left the organisation, the report claims Infantino used his connections to help her find a new position, and that UEFA separately paid for her to complete an MBA at a local business school. FIFA has rejected every part of the claim in the strongest possible terms.
The timing is what turns a personal allegation into an institutional problem. It arrives while Infantino is already fighting to hold his coalition of national federations together ahead of a contested re-election bid.
UEFA has not denied that a payment was made. A spokesperson confirmed a departure payment went to the individual named in the report, describing it as consistent with the staff regulations in place at the time, regulations the organisation says have since been tightened. UEFA also confirmed it covered her MBA course fees.
FIFA’s response was far less conciliatory. A spokesperson called the allegations categorically untrue and defamatory, insisting no employee at either organisation has ever filed a complaint about the matter. The two statements sit awkwardly next to each other, one confirming a payment happened, the other rejecting any suggestion of wrongdoing behind it.
This is not an isolated news cycle. UEFA’s boycott over FIFA’s scrapped commercial rights plan remains unanimous, and Wales and England became the first national federations in FIFA’s history to formally withdraw their nomination support, doing so on August 3. Albania and Croatia followed within days.
Canada’s prime minister has publicly called him the wrong man for the job, a striking intervention from a head of government into football politics. Inside FIFA’s own Council, there is now a push to convene a special accountability meeting, something that has not happened at this level in years. Each development on its own would be manageable. Together, in the same week, they compound.
This is not the first time scrutiny has followed him either. His name surfaced in the Panama Papers back in 2016, an early reminder that his finances would draw outside attention throughout his presidency.
Swiss criminal investigators opened a case in 2020 and 2021 over a secret meeting he held with a former Swiss attorney general, though that inquiry was eventually closed without charges. Private jet expenses drew unwelcome coverage in 2020 as well, another story that faded within weeks.
Every one of those episodes generated a news cycle and then faded, and FIFA’s base across Africa, the Middle East and Asia held firm each time regardless of the noise in Europe. Whether that base stays as solid now, with credibility already spent on the commercial rights collapse, is the genuinely open question this time around.
The March 18, 2027 FIFA Congress in Rabat is where the presidency is formally decided, but the effective deadline arrives far sooner. Candidacy nominations close on November 18, 2026, and if nobody files a challenge by then, Infantino runs unopposed for a fourth term.
This latest report lands in the same narrow window as the collapsed commercial plan, the federation withdrawals, and a separate blackmail allegation involving Jordan, all within a single week. No single allegation ends a presidency on its own. Assessing genuine Gianni Infantino FIFA presidency scandal risk means weighing the accumulation, not any one headline, and by that measure this week has done more damage than any before it.
Does this change how you see Infantino’s chances of running unopposed in November? Tell us below.
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Did Gianni Infantino deny the UEFA affair allegations?
Yes, a FIFA spokesperson called the claims categorically untrue and defamatory in a direct statement. The statement added that no employee at either organisation has ever filed a related complaint.
What did UEFA say about the payment to its former employee?
UEFA confirmed a departure payment was made, in line with the rules that existed at the time. It also confirmed covering the individual’s MBA course fees separately.
Is Gianni Infantino under formal investigation right now?
No formal FIFA Ethics action has been confirmed as of this latest report. A separate Swiss criminal case tied to a 2021 meeting with a former attorney general was closed without charges.
Why did UEFA launch a boycott against FIFA this year?
UEFA rejected a plan to sell a 20 percent World Cup commercial stake for 4.2 billion dollars. The plan, known as FIFA Forward Enterprise, was scrapped on August 1 after the boycott vote.
When is the next FIFA Congress that decides the presidency?
The 77th FIFA Congress meets March 18, 2027, in Rabat, Morocco. Nominations for any rival challengers must be filed earlier, by November 18, 2026.
