It’s been a tempestuous summer for FIFA president Gianni Infantino as he now looks at risk of losing his job. However, with most of UEFA against him, one major European nation could break ranks to stand by his side.
Infantino caused outrage in July when it was revealed that he had planned to privatise the World Cup by selling off shares to investors. He was soon forced to abandon the scheme when the footballing world came together to speak out against the notion.
Among his biggest critics were UEFA. The European football body had already slammed FIFA after Folarin Balogun’s red card was suspended, allowing him to play in the USA’s Round of 16 World Cup clash with Belgium. Adding to that anger, they then declared a loss of confidence in Infantino following his plot to sell the World Cup.
Despite the FIFA boss scrapping his plans, UEFA still intend to boycott the World Cup. Many nations have come out to retract any past support for Infantino, but it’s now been claimed that one major country plans on betraying UEFA.
In early August, Wales became the first nation to officially withdraw support for Infantino, and since then many others have followed suit. The likes of England, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Serbia, Greece, Albania, the Netherlands and Croatia all want a new person running FIFA when the elections are held in March 2027.
However, according to trusted journalist Romain Molina, two-time World Cup winners France are set to betray UEFA. In a YouTube video entitled ‘French Betrayal’, he explained how Philippe Diallo, president of the French Football Federation (FFF), has remained publicly silent on the matter so far and is yet to officially withdraw support for Infantino.
UEFA will need 106 votes against Infantino from FIFA’s 211 members to force out the current president in the March vote. There are 55 members from Europe, and it was hoped internally that all should vote in line with UEFA, but that may not be the case.
Molina points out that French territory New Caledonia, who would be expected to vote in line with France, have recently released a statement showing support for Infantino. He then claimed that ‘this was the final nail in the coffin’ for UEFA’s doubts, as they now fear France will betray their planned boycott.
He explained that Diallo ‘doesn’t want to boycott,’ and has made that understood. Amid all this, the French Football Federation boss is said to have become Infantino’s ‘new best friend.’ However, Molina also notes that the rest of the FFF executive committee are not being informed, which suggests Diallo is acting alone in making these decisions on behalf of the federation.
Adding to the controversy, Molina adds that French president Emmanuel Macron is calling for unity, which appears to mean offering support for Infantino. Summing it up, he claims that, behind the scenes, France are standing behind the current FIFA boss.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino and UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin
France Have No Intention of Following UEFA’s Position on FIFA Boycott
Taking to social media, Molina added more context as he explained:
“Behind the scenes, the president of the FFF supports Infantino and has no intention of following UEFA’s positions on the boycott. A double game also embodied by Emmanuel Macron, directly involved in the Infantino affair…”
He also added: “Isn’t Philippe Diallo playing a double game? Since the start of the Infantino affair, the president of the FFF has refrained from any unpleasant comments. It’s increasingly whispered that his position (and his interests in advancing within international bodies) differs from that of Ceferin and the majority of UEFA members.
“Within the European body, doubts already existed and will be reinforced, since New Caledonia, an associate member of the FFF, has just published a letter of absolute support for Infantino. By engaging so much in politics, the president of the FFF might end up burning himself…”
- It will be very interesting to see if we get any official statements on the matter from France, UEFA, or FIFA in the coming weeks.
