UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin has called on Gianni Infantino to resign as FIFA president, warning that he will face a rival candidate at the next election if he refuses to step down.
Infantino has come under increasing pressure after attempting to sell the commercial rights to the World Cup to private investors, triggering a strong backlash from several of FIFA’s partners.
UEFA was among the organisations to oppose the plans and threatened to boycott FIFA competitions if they went ahead.
The FIFA Enterprise Forward project was eventually dropped, but several football confederations have since expressed a loss of confidence in Infantino, accusing him of secretly planning to sell the World Cup.
Asked whether he could run for the FIFA presidency himself, Čeferin said he had no interest in replacing Infantino.
“One of the reasons is that I love UEFA,” Čeferin said. “I love working here and I think that at some point… I also have to enjoy my life a little bit.”
He added that remaining outside the race would strengthen his credibility.
“And the second point is that my credibility is much, much higher if I’m not interested in that position,” he said.
Nevertheless, Čeferin reiterated that Infantino must either step down or face a challenger if he seeks re-election at the next FIFA Congress, which will be held in Morocco in March.
“There are two options,” he said. “One option is that he realises that he does not have the support — and I’m not talking only about the political support of those who vote, but also the support of the football community, the fans, the players, former players and coaches.”
“The second option is to go to an election in March, but in that case I think he will have a candidate running against him. I still don’t know who it will be,” Čeferin added.
Potential challengers include Concacaf president Victor Montagliani and AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa.
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