UEFA Gives Infantino Until November 2, Sends FIFA Ultimatum Demanding Documents

Tension between world football's governing body FIFA and European football's governing body UEFA has come into the open. UEFA has given FIFA president Gianni Infantino until November 2 to answer for several controversial decisions and internal administrative transparency, issuing an ultimatum demanding satisfactory explanations of serious questions over policymaking and the release of related documents.

Last Thursday, at a FIFA Council meeting, Infantino apologised for a controversial plan concerning the World Cup's commercial rights but gave no detailed explanation of how the initiative had been taken. That gap is seen as one of the main reasons behind UEFA's hard line.

According to a BBC Sport report, UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis has sent FIFA a stern eight-page letter. The letter alleges that FIFA has still not formally answered some basic questions, nor supplied the documents requested.

The letter chiefly seeks accountability over the plan to bring private investment into the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project, the FIFA Peace Prize, and the suspension of the ban imposed on United States forward Folarin Balogun at the World Cup.

Through the FFE project, Infantino had planned to hand part of the commercial rights of a mega-event like the World Cup to private investors. The plan was cancelled amid fierce criticism once it became public, but UEFA is demanding a detailed explanation of how such a sensitive decision was taken and why the FIFA Council was not involved in time.

The UEFA general secretary stated clearly in the letter that if any document or information cannot be released, the specific reason must be given separately. He also noted that promises of future administrative reform cannot in any way excuse wrong decisions taken in the past.

England's Football Association chair and FIFA vice-president Debbie Hewitt has sharply criticised Infantino over the affair, commenting that if he cannot answer these basic questions, he is no longer fit to remain FIFA president.

It is not yet clear exactly what legal or administrative steps UEFA will take if FIFA fails to respond by November 2. But the demand for documents and transparency threatens to intensify the political and administrative tension between world football's two top bodies.

This strain between FIFA and UEFA is significant for the governance of world football itself. European football is one of the game's most powerful regions, and a deadline set directly by its body has multiplied the pressure on the FIFA president.

All eyes are now on November 2. Which way this dispute turns depends on whether FIFA can provide satisfactory answers and documents within the deadline.