The fallout from FIFA President Gianni Infantino's decision to abandon plans to sell a stake in the World Cup intensified Tuesday as influential football executives continued to distance themselves from the proposal and Jordan Football Association President Prince Ali bin Al Hussein accused him of blackmail.
The crisis erupted after three days of unprecedented infighting within world football's governing body. Late Friday, the 56-year-old Swiss-Italian backed away from his controversial plan to raise $4.2 billion through a new commercial rights entity.
Although Infantino later apologized for the divisions the proposal had caused, acknowledging that the plan to introduce private investment into the World Cup had split the global game, the episode dealt a significant blow to his authority at the top of FIFA, ending years of seemingly unchallenged control.
FIFA Secretary-General Mattias Grafström also acknowledged the turmoil in an internal message to staff, lamenting the "sad and reproachable series of events" that resulted in the project being "permanently abandoned," according to two sources familiar with the communication.
"We have all been thrown into the middle of a turmoil, which is difficult to comprehend and accept," Grafström wrote in the letter without mentioning Infantino by name.
