Pressure from outside, defense from within: the struggle over Infantino intensifies

The struggle surrounding the future of FIFA President Gianni Infantino is escalating. Patrice Motsepe, FIFA Vice President and President of the Confederation of African Football, has in the last day come to the defense of the official procedure within the organization and warned against attempts to oust Infantino before the upcoming elections.

In an interview with "Sky News", the first by one of FIFA's vice presidents since the storm broke, Motsepe said that those who wish to replace Infantino should do so through the ballot box.

"If you want to remove him, go to the elections. Let the 211 member associations decide," he said, adding that "one must be very careful."

The remarks come against the backdrop of a widespread storm surrounding a secret plan attributed to Infantino to sell shares related to the World Cup to private investors. UEFA, along with the associations of Asia and North and Central America, published a sharp letter this week in which they alleged "misleading" and "breach of trust." According to "Sky News," the move is also intended to increase pressure on Infantino to resign even before the FIFA presidential elections in March.

Motsepe recently met in Salzburg with UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, who is leading the hard line against Infantino. Despite this, he refrained from unequivocally supporting the FIFA president and emphasized that he must be allowed a fair process before decisions are made regarding his future.

As recalled, in the last week, US President Donald Trump came to Infantino's defense, against the backdrop of growing pressures to replace him. Trump called the possibility of ousting the FIFA president a "terrible mistake," after Infantino himself reached out to him and requested his support in the face of sharp criticism from senior officials and football associations around the world.