FIFA has dismissed as 'pure fiction' reports that President Gianni Infantino contacted Donald Trump for support amid a leadership crisis.
FIFA's response
In a short statement, FIFA said: "The FIFA President has not made any call to the U.S President, or any members of his administration, in recent days. It is pure fiction."
The denial came after The Times reported that Infantino had sought support from the US President following backlash over his FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal.
Background
Infantino was forced to cancel the proposal, which involved selling a minority stake in FIFA tournaments, after facing criticism over the lack of scrutiny it had received. UEFA had threatened to boycott FIFA tournaments.
The controversy has raised questions about Infantino's position ahead of his bid for re-election.
Support wanes
England, Wales, and Serbia have withdrawn their support for Infantino's re-election. Serbia's football association said in a statement that the developments "seriously undermined the reputation and credibility of both FIFA and its President."
The association added that the future of world football must be based on "transparency, dialogue, mutual respect, and partner relations among all confederations and national associations."
