Overview
- FIFA on Thursday filed court papers in the United States opposing UEFA’s discovery requests and described the moves as a smear campaign and an effort to pry into confidential internal records.
- UEFA has lodged applications in three U.S. states seeking documents tied to FIFA’s July proposal to sell World Cup stakes to investors, according to the filings and reporting.
- FIFA argued in its filings that no criminal proceedings are currently open in Switzerland or elsewhere and that this lack of a pending prosecution undermines UEFA’s legal claim to the documents.
- European federations led by UEFA say they are preparing legal steps against FIFA president Gianni Infantino for alleged criminal mismanagement and have said they will file complaints in Switzerland if the requested papers are disclosed.
- The dispute turns a governance fight over a scrapped investor plan into cross-border litigation, raising risks to FIFA–UEFA relations, the balance of commercial power in world football, and the oversight path for any future deals.