Top FIFA officials Wenger and Grafstrom distance themselves from Infantino’s World Cup sell-off plan
GENEVA: Two senior FIFA executives — coaching great Arsene Wenger and CEO-like secretary general Mattias Grafstrom — distanced themselves Tuesday from their boss Gianni Infantino’s failed plan to sell stakes in future World Cup profits to private investors.
Wenger said in a statement he knew nothing of the $20 billion plan and that it was “absolutely necessary” to drop the proposal, and Grafstrom sent an email to all FIFA staff — seen by The Associated Press — calling the last week a “sad and reproachable series of events.” He also said it created “turmoil which is difficult to comprehend and accept.”
Neither directly named Infantino or offered support for the now-embattled president.
The comments by Wenger and Grafstrom had echoes of the direct criticism from FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour, who said Friday that staff had been “deceived” by Infantino’s private equity plan, which provoked a furor in global football. Lamour called it the “project of one person” and said FIFA staff “deserve better than contempt and intimidation.”
