UEFA threatens to boycott World Cup

You can see the hydration breaks for what Tom and I said on this programme at the time they really were.And that is the thin end of a very thick wedge that less than a fortnight after the World Cup ended, we can now see was all about the sell -off of the competition to private investors and the possible Americanisation of the World Cup in ways that would at the very least generously benefit America's television networks.for whom those first hydration breaks brought in additional commercial revenues of at least $250 million.And I reckon by the time they do the final tot up, we will learn that it was significantly more lucrative than that.Now, look, I am not really a football fan, beyond a bit of occasional dabbling.But I know an outrage when I see one.

And what is going on with Gianni Infantino, the Trump backed head of FIFA.The man who concocted a peace prize to give to Donald Trump before the tournament got underway is absolutely shameless.He is planning to sell off stakes in FIFA's competitions, including the World Cup, to private investors.And get this, the bloke in the catbird seat to oversee the sell -off is a man by the name of Joshua Kushner.And if that name rings a bell, it should, because he's a member of Donald Trump's extended family.He is the brother of the president's diplomatic wunderkind, Jared Kushner, who is, of course, married to Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter.

So let's get this straight.Ivanka Trump's brother -in -law is going potentially to control the sell -off of 20 to 30 percent of the World Cup's commercial rights to private investors.What could...go wrong with that?And in order to try and push all of this through, Mr Infantino has given football federations until September the 19th to accept his plans if they want to access an initial payment by FIFA of $20 million.That's about £15 million.

Ultimately, every federation would receive double that sum to develop the game, according to FIFA, if they back this plan.Today, as you've been hearing on LBC over the last hour, UEFA has called Gianni Infantino's bluff, saying that European nations, this the result of an emergency meeting that UEFA has been holding in Switzerland, European nations will boycott all FIFA competitions until the global body drops plans to create a company featuring private investors to run the World Cup and other events.UEFA's approach was unequivocal with a UEFA statement confirming that no UEFA national teams will participate in any FIFA competition for so long as these proposals remain alive unless this proposal has been abandoned in its entirety and, get this, Binding assurances have been given that FIFA will never again open its governance or competitions to private ownership.And as we heard just before the news, the FA is fully backing that collective approach by UEFA, now demanding not only that Gianni Infantino abandons his plans to sell off stakes in parts of the FIFA World Cup, but also to provide binding assurances on behalf of FIFA that it will notagain flirt with the idea of opening its governance or competitions up to private ownership.What do you think of the developments that we are witnessing here tonight?

Has UEFA, backed by the FA, done enough to to stop Gianni Infantino, and by inference Donald Trump, from trying essentially to take control of the biggest sporting competition around the world, certainly as football is concerned.Do you worry that Mr Infantino might still be dangling those $20 million, $40 million payouts to football associations, and there may still be an opportunity for this to go ahead, even without UEFA's backing, which would clearly run the risk of us having just witnessed the last World Cup, if that was the case.Let me know what you think about all of this.Call me at 0345 6060 973, same number for WhatsApp that it is for the phones, you can text 84850.I'm delighted to say that we are joined this afternoon by Lars Christa Olsen, the former chief executive of UEFA from 2003 until 2007.Mr. Christa Olsen, thank you very much indeed for being with us here on LBC this afternoon.

This is a very dramatic move by UEFA.I presume that you back it, but do you think they've done enough to try and nip Gianni Infantino's plans in the bud and derail them good afternoon.

And I think there is a very strong statement from UEFA and also from others in Europe, like, for example, the European Leagues and some associations like the FA.And I think also I've seen some promising messages from other confederations also, because this is the tricky thing, that Europe is, of course, not strong enough on its own to stop something like this.I hope the other confederations will join.

I mean there is an issue because under Gianni Infantino's leadership of course the number of associations involved in FIFA and therefore the number of teams involved in the World Cup has already expanded and included teams from some parts of the world where that offer of 20 to 40 million dollars is a considerable sum.So there may still be risk here right?

Yes of course there is a risk.And that was shown already under the leadership of Avalanche and Blatter.But I think Infantino now has taken that problem to another stage.And in my opinion, the most important challenge for football for the future is the development of corruption.And this is certainly a step in the wrong direction.

When you watched the World Cup, play out in the United States and of course also in Mexico and Canada.And you saw things like President Trump calling Gianni Infantino to make sure that the red card against the American striker was essentially suspended and derailed so that he could play in that match from which he would otherwise have been suspended.And more broadly, you heard President Donald Trump talking about his opposition to some of the rules of the game, did you think at the time that the fix wasin here, that there was something going on between Gianni Infantino and Donald Trump that was going to lead to this sort of a proposal?Or did this proposal come to you as a complete bolt from the blue?

I was surprised when the proposal came out, but I have to say you could have seen tendencies from this kind of behavior already in the World Cup in Russia, where Infantino got the Nobel Prize of President Putin and for the decisions on the organization of the upcoming World Cups and the way he was maneuvering to get this decision passed.through.So I was not totally, totally surprised.But I think now is the time for all the other stakeholders in football and those who are owning football, which means the players, the fans and the national associations, the clubs, they have to react now to stop this crazy thing going on.

Is it going too far to say that the very soul of football is essentially on the line here?

Yeah, it is definitely at risk.And everybody has been complaining about changes in the rules of the game, for example, by the important role of the four British associations.I'm grateful that those four associations are there, because otherwise, already Blatterwood had changed the rules in a different way.And now Infantino is doing totally stupid things.

And can I ask you, I mean, you obviously know Gianni Infantino and have been aware of him for a very long time.What do you think happened to him?

I think Cattini made a...statement some time ago saying that he obviously is very keen on being around the rich people of the world.And I think that is one of the reasons, I guess.Otherwise, it's difficult to see how an intelligent brain like Gianni Infantino's could end up here.But now he has to be stopped.

You sound not entirely convinced that he's going to be stopped.And I'm somewhat surprised by that because a casual observer, which I am, would have thought that with UEFA taking this kind of a stand, that would deal a body blow to Infantino's plans.But you don't necessarily seem to think that's the case.

I'm not so sure that he is not willing to take the risk of trying to get it through in any case.Of course, if UEFA is boycotting all FIFA activities, it will be the end of FIFA in a way, because all the money which is generated is, I mean, if we include the clubs and all other things, it's primarily coming from UEFA or Europe and the European influence.But we have had a long period of time where I think the national associations have been weak.And now they have to show that they are the ones who are representing the true owners of football and act accordingly.