Gianni Infantino snubs US investigation into Fifa’s Trump links
Fifa president Gianni Infantino has failed to respond to a request to appear before the United States House Judiciary Committee or supply documents sought by one of its members more than a month after the deadline passed, the Press Association understands.
Democrat Jamie Raskin, the committee's ranking minority member, wrote to Infantino on 26 July announcing an investigation into "a sustained campaign" by Fifa to curry favour with US president Donald Trump.
The letter stated that attempts to gain favours extended to dropping high-profile corruption cases, while also accusing Fifa of "gouging" American consumers with "exorbitant" ticket prices for the World Cup this summer.
The Swiss official was asked to reply by 9 August, produce the requested files, and contact the committee to arrange an interview. However, it is understood that no response whatsoever had been received by Thursday.
As no subpoena was issued, Infantino faces no criminal penalties for ignoring Raskin’s request.
Nevertheless, Fifa is facing a growing backlog of demands for answers on multiple fronts.
Two days after Raskin sent his letter, The Times and the Financial Times detailed Infantino’s plan to seek private investment for a new company, Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE), created to manage commercial and operational arms of the World Cup and other Fifa tournaments.
The scheme was promptly rejected by three continental confederations, leading Infantino to withdraw it on 1 August. However, his management of the proposal has intensified pressure on his position, with Uefa declaring it had "lost confidence" in him as president. Infantino has promised a review into how the FFE project was handled, though Fifa has not revealed who will conduct it.
Uefa has called for an independent, external review into the FFE initiative and is seeking document disclosure through the US legal system, with a view to potential criminal proceedings in Switzerland.
Meanwhile, the Belgian football association (RBFA) is understood to be continuing legal action regarding the suspension of a one-match ban for US forward Folarin Balogun, which enabled him to play against Belgium in a World Cup last-16 fixture in July.
Infantino remains intent on seeking re-election for a further four-year term next March. He is presently the sole candidate, although Uefa stated on 27 August that it would work to offer a credible alternative contender.
Candidacies must be submitted by the deadline of November 18.
The presidents of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and Concacaf, which represents nations across North and Central America and the Caribbean, joined Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin in denouncing Infantino’s "deception" over the FFE plan in an open letter on August 10.
Even so, Infantino continues to retain support within Asia. On Thursday, he met with the presidents of the Kuwaiti and Iraqi football associations, adding to backing already pledged by other Middle Eastern nations including Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Within Concacaf, Mexico, Grenada and St Kitts and Nevis have also broken ranks to support him.
Separately, Fifa is expected to receive an analysis on Friday assessing the feasibility of expanding the World Cup to 64 teams.
A research document seen on 30 July set a 14 August deadline to appoint an agency to conduct the study, with the final analysis requested by 11 September.
Fifa has not commented on the document, but a proposal to consider expanding the 2030 finals has the backing of South American confederation Conmebol.
Under current plans, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will host one game each at the start of the centenary tournament, before the remainder of the competition is co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
