UEFA chief won’t challenge FIFA’s Infantino, but wants him to quit

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said he will not challenge FIFA President Gianni Infantino but warned that Infantino could face a rival if he runs for re-election in March.

Infantino has faced growing pressure after abandoning a plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity investors. UEFA and other confederations opposed the proposal, with UEFA also threatening to boycott FIFA competitions.

Ceferin criticized the plan in an interview with the podcast The Rest is Politics, calling it “even worse than the Super League plan.”

“I’m absolutely sure that the [FFE] plan is dead. For me, the most important thing is that we stopped another try to sell the sport.” he said.

Ceferin said Infantino now has two options: step down after losing the support of the football community or contest the election and face a challenger.

“One option is that he realizes that he doesn’t have the support, and that’s not only political support of the ones who vote, but the political support of the football community, the political support of fans, the political support of the players, former players, coaches.

“And the second option [is] that he goes to the elections in March, but in that case, I think he will have a candidate against him. I don’t know yet who.”

Infantino has led FIFA since 2016 and had appeared likely to win re-election unopposed in Morocco next year. FIFA has set November 18 as the deadline for challengers to nominate.

‘Not interested’

Ceferin, 58, has been mentioned as a potential challenger but ruled out running for FIFA president, saying he remains committed to UEFA.

“I’m not interested because of two reasons. One reason is that I love UEFA and I love working here, and I think that at a certain point … it’s time to also enjoy life a bit.

“And the second point is, my credibility is much, much higher if I’m not interested in the position.”

Asked whether Infantino had become too close to US President Donald Trump, with whom he forged a close relationship before the recent World Cup, Ceferin said: “To be honest, I think you are naive if you think that a politician like that, or any politician, is your good friend. The moment you are a problem, you stop being a friend of a politician.”