The Eye-Opening Letter UEFA Sent to Gianni Infantino After World Cup Plans U-Turn LThe letter UEFA sent directly to FIFA president Gianni Infantino after he scrapped his controversial World Cup plans has been leaked proposal to sell off stakes in the World Cup sparked widespread backlash. Despite initial criticism, the Swiss defended the plans, saying that ‘nobody is selling football’.
However, after numerous governing bodies issued furious statements slamming the plans, including UEFA and CONACAF, Infantino felt he had no choice but to no longer go ahead with them.
“Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place,” Infantino said in a statement.
European football’s governing body, UEFA, released a sensational statement after Infantino backtracked on his plans. They welcomed FIFA’s decision to withdraw their plans before unleashing a fierce attack on Infantino, saying they had lost all confidence in him.
They also sent a letter directly to Infantino after his U-turn. In the letter, which has been seen and shared by The Telegraph, UEFA said they were considering legal action and warned the FIFA president not to destroy any documents about the plans.
The letter, which was sent on Friday, read: “Uefa hereby gives formal notice that it is actively considering legal action, arbitration, and/or regulatory complaints (together, the “proceedings”) arising out of and in connection with the FFE plan proposed by Fifa and all related matters as further described below.
“You and Fifa are required 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. These obligations arise independently of any internal retention policy you or your organisation maintain and supersede any routine document destruction or deletion policies that would otherwise apply.”
UEFA Instruct Infantino Not to Delete Any Documents
FIFA President Gianni Infantino
REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake
UEFA also warned Infantino not to delete any documents relating to his scrapped plans as it may ‘constitute spoliation of evidence.’
The letter continued: “Uefa – as well as other confederations, Fifa member associations and football stakeholders – has strongly condemned the FFE plan in the strongest terms as fundamentally incompatible with the proper governance of football. Given that proceedings are reasonably anticipated, you are obliged to preserve all relevant materials (as defined below) with immediate effect.”
“Uefa puts you on formal notice that any destruction, deletion, alteration, concealment, or loss of relevant materials following receipt of this notice – or following any earlier date on which you were, or reasonably should have been, aware that proceedings were anticipated – may constitute spoliation of evidence. Uefa reserves all rights to seek appropriate remedies in the proceedings for any such destruction or loss, including applications for adverse inference orders, sanctions, and costs against the responsible party or parties.”
The letter concluded with UEFA demanding that Infantino respond within five days acknowledging the letter, that he ha
s taken steps to preserve the relevant materials required and whether he is aware that any have been destroyed or deleted.
