Football confederation leaders accuse Infantino of ‘breach of trust’

UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have accused FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino, of a "breach of trust through deception" in an open letter. Signed by the presidents and general secretaries of the three confederations, the letter states that the controversy surrounding the proposed "FIFA Forward" commercial entity concerns the "integrity of the game and the integrity of those elected to lead it." The proposal involved creating a new company to manage commercial rights and ticket sales for all FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, with 21 percent of the entity to be sold to a private equity firm. The plan was halted following widespread criticism led by UEFA, which had previously threatened to boycott FIFA competitions if the process continued. The letter states: "When trust is broken through deception and an individual places themselves above the collective that entrusted them with authority, that mandate is forfeited." Although Infantino is not named directly, sources told BBC Sport that the text should be viewed as an invitation for him to resign with dignity. The letter follows a statement issued by FIFA on Saturday night, which strongly criticised what it described as a "coordinated and sustained effort" to "undermine" the organisation and its president. The signatories have demanded that the matter be investigated by a "fully independent third party." FIFA has committed to presenting a report on the matter to the FIFA Council in October.