Uefa has lost confidence in Fifa president Gianni Infantino after the failure of his plan to sell World Cup stakes to private investors. He abandoned the proposal overnight after it was rejected by three continental confederations, with Uefa having warned its nations would boycott Fifa events if it went ahead.
The European football governing body welcomed the decision to drop the plan but said Infantino had lost the trust of the football world. It described the proposal as a "shabby, back room, opaque deal".
Political backlash
Prime Minister Andy Burnham had called the plans "outrageous" and said bringing them forward made clear that Infantino was "the wrong man to lead the organisation".
The proposal also met high-level opposition within Fifa, prompting the resignation of senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro and chief operating officer Kevin Lamour. They described it in a statement as "a project of one person".
Uefa calls for review
In a statement on Saturday, Uefa said: "We cannot keep going on like this with secret schemes on fast-track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game. We must identify those responsible and hold them to account."
Uefa said it would work with its associations and other confederations in the coming weeks to "reflect" on how this happened and "devise a plan to make sure that it cannot occur again". It added: "That review should be thorough and fundamental. No option should be off the table. The current Fifa leadership has not only lost Uefa's confidence but also that of many other members of the football family."
Proposal withdrawn
The plan would have seen stakes sold in a company which would run the commercial and operational aspects of competitions, including the men's and women's World Cups. Infantino said early on Saturday that "this proposal will not proceed" after it became clear the project had "created divisions".
In his statement, Infantino said: "Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place. Our purpose has always been – and will always be – to unite and improve. As a result, this proposal will not proceed. Moving forward, my intent is to bring all interested parties back together in the coming days and weeks in the spirit of shared interest in our game, and with the objective to continue growing football everywhere, particularly in those countries that mostly need our support."
