The war between FIFA and UEFA is heading to court.
The European soccer governing body took legal action in three states on Thursday against FIFA, its president Gianni Infantino, and others involved in the short-lived plan to sell minority stakes in the World Cup.
UEFA is not outright suing FIFA. Instead, the European soccer body is seeking information through the discovery process from FIFA, Infantino, Thrive Capital, and former Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei—information it could then take to Swiss authorities with the goal of bringing criminal charges against Infantino and potentially other FIFA officials.
Europe has been the loudest adversary to FIFA in the fallout from Infantino’s failed FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal. UEFA first condemned the plan before FIFA had officially announced it, and threatened to boycott all FIFA tournaments while the plan was still alive. The idea was called off on July 31, but Europe kept the pressure on Infantino.Individual member associations have withdrawn their support for the Swiss leader in the upcoming FIFA presidential elections, and UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin published a joint letter with soccer leaders from North America and Asia blasting him for “deception.”
