Criminal Complaint Against the Man Who Rules FIFA

The man entrusted with guarding world soccer wanted to quietly sell off a piece of it on the cheap, and now he could end up in the defendant’s chair because of it. European soccer’s governing body, UEFA, is preparing a criminal complaint in Switzerland against FIFA President Gianni Infantino over alleged criminal mismanagement and may also target other officials and advisers. In U.S. court filings, the organization is seeking documents from Joshua Kushner and his firm Thrive Capital, as well as FIFA’s Americas arm, while at the same time pushing toward Infantino’s removal.

Infantino’s plan called for raising $4 billion by selling 20 percent of FIFA’s commercial rights. The resulting $20 billion valuation of the new commercial entity, FIFA Forward Enterprise, was described by UEFA in the filings as “absurdly low.” Thrive Eternal, a sister vehicle of Thrive Capital, was lined up as the lead investor. Its founder, Joshua Kushner, is the brother of Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law. Infantino had presented the sale as a lucrative opportunity to expand soccer further around the world. The deal would have separated FIFA’s money-making business from its role as the sport’s global governing body and rulemaker. Thrive and FIFA initially did not respond to requests for comment.

The legal move follows a long-running fight over how soccer’s governing body should be run, and it hits Infantino where he is most sensitive - power. In Monte Carlo on Thursday, UEFA and its European allies from the FIFA Council and national associations discussed what to do next. Participants reportedly backed UEFA in pursuing every available route to ensure FIFA is once again run as an institution and “not around one individual.” At first, the organization had threatened to boycott every competition run by nonprofit FIFA. On Thursday, however, it allowed its teams to go ahead and take part in the Women’s U20 World Cup in Poland. The reason, UEFA said, was assurances from FIFA that the project had been “irrevocably and permanently withdrawn” and would not return in any form. But that leniency will be kept under “constant review,” and participation in FIFA competitions could once again be called into question “if circumstances so require.”

Infantino has acknowledged that the investment plans were mishandled and promised a review. That is not enough for UEFA: it is demanding a “genuinely independent external review,” because FIFA cannot investigate itself and expect the soccer world to simply swallow the result. FIFA members vote in March, and Infantino is seeking another term. His opponents have not yet put forward a rival candidate, which is why UEFA said it would work with allies to find a “credible alternative.” There is not much leverage left, because the next men’s World Cup, FIFA’s cash cow, is still 4 years away.

The plan has split the entire sport. UEFA and the associations in the Americas and the Caribbean opposed it. On Infantino’s side were the African confederation and numerous representatives from South America, along with the Middle East. Saudi Arabia, chosen by FIFA to host the 2034 World Cup, also backed him and at the same time called for recognition of his contribution to soccer over nearly a decade. The Saudi federation supported the FIFA leadership’s efforts to “restore unity across the football family.”

UEFA and FIFA, the two heavyweights of world soccer, have been fighting for years over who controls the game. The Europeans make billions every year from the men’s Champions League and stage the European Championship every 4 years. FIFA lives off its World Cup, whose four-year cycle will bring in more than $15 billion by the end of the year, as Infantino told members during the 2026 tournament, and under him it has aggressively expanded its business in club soccer. Those are the sums now being fought over, with lawyers instead of a ball.

To be continued ...