CORNERFLICK
Uefa has kept open the threat of a boycott of the World Cup and other FIFA competitions, despite a public apology from Gianni Infantino and FIFA over the controversial FIFA Forward Enterprises plan.
Uefa holds its line
FIFA and secretary general Matthias Grafström said in a joint statement on Wednesday night that mistakes were made in how the FFE proposal was handled. They admitted the process should have been managed differently and said members of the FIFA Council and the 211 associations should not have felt shut out.
Uefa said on Thursday that the apology was not enough. Its members had been clear that any return to cooperation depended on the proposals being withdrawn and on guarantees that similar attempts would not be made again.
The European body added that those conditions had not been met and said its trust in Infantino’s leadership remained gone.
FIFA backs its president
Infantino has kept his position for now. At emergency talks in Rabat, FIFA’s ruling council again gave him its full backing, with the organisation saying he remained the only elected office-holder of FIFA’s 211 member associations.