UEFA criticises FIFA's 'secret schemes from faceless individuals'

Good morning.Europe's football governing body, UEFA, says it has lost confidence in FIFA's president Gianni Infantino in a damning statement.It comes after FIFA boss Gianni Infantino scrapped controversial plans to sell off a stake in the World Cup after mounting backlash from football organisations right around the world.In comments obtained exclusively by Sky News, Mr Infantino conceded the proposal had created divisions that made the idea untenable.sports correspondent, Rob Harris.Rob, I mean, looking at this statement, damning is an understatement.

Things like, it's our job to protect football, and we cannot keep going on like this with secret screams on fast -track timescales.Yeah, I mean, it's worse than damning, if that's possible.

Yes, looking perilous for Gianni Infantino's presidency at FIFA.It was in the early hours of this morning I revealed from Gianni Infantino that FIFA was scrapping these plans to try to sell off stakes in the World Cup.to private investors.privatecrooked up by faceless individuals of dubious benefit to the game.We must identify those responsible and hold them to account.

It is right that in the coming days and weeks, UEFA will work with its associations and in close cooperation with other confederations to reflect how this happened and devise a plan to make sure that it cannot occur again.That review should be thorough and fundamental.No option should be off the table.The current FIFA leadership has not only lost UEFA's confidence, but also that of many other members of the football family.This is a victory for the whole game, but it must not be the end of the story.The proposal has gone.

The task of rebuilding trust in FIFA has only just begun.Well, that is absolutely damning about Infantino, who used to be the... boss running the administration at UEFA.He was general secretary up until 2016.He was the person who was brought into FIFA to try to clean things up in 2016 after the discredited Sepp Blatter era and the scandal and controversy and arrests of football officials that brought Blatter and his era tumbling down.But as Uefa say in their statement that he's failed to deliver on his promises that when he was elected about being transparent and about being open where the money's going in world football they talk about a shabby backroom opaque deal he's had to try and force through things that were not transparent and at the heart of this is the money involved this was a plan he concocted Infantino to spin -off the World Cups into a new venture valued at $20bn with JPMorgan Bank, looking to sell off $4 .2bn of that to private investors.Private equity could have a 20 % stake in FIFA competitions forevermore.

And as Infantino's former adviser until yesterday, Carlos Cadero, revealed to me in his exclusive resignation statement, He thought it was undervalued, he said it was a bad deal for football and questioned why this deal was being done now.Who was benefiting financially from it?from be the person to clean things up.Where does this leave Infantino's position now?Next year he's due to stand for re -election for another what should be his final four -year term.What UEFA are effectively saying today is he should not be re -elected and they're trying to find potentially another candidate to replace him and Europe is the biggest confederation of all the six in world football with 55 members.

Gian Infantino's presidency is looking very much in jeopardy.

How will the next few months, six months, a year look?Because the election for the next FIFA president is in March.Will Infantino now go around all the confederations basically canvassing, trying to get support?Because he does have support in some areas, maybe not in UEFA.

Yes, he's not been criticised by the African Confederation nor the South American Confederation.It's the European, Asian and North American bodies that have come out against these proposals this week.But that covers the majority of the world's football associations, yet still...Even today, the Confederation of African Football has been cautious, the same with South American body Comerball, who actually want to see the World Cup expanded from 48 to 64 teams.So often, there is self -interest in the game and that has prevented people speaking out.As we've been hearing in statements, including from his Chief Operating Officer at Comerball,

from close association with Vladimir Putin the world and they were furious so he's not really responded to the backlash but the rebellion now is greater than ever before that Infantino is faced with a determined effort from Europe, from the UEFA members to seemingly end his presidency.