Gianni Infantino’s decision to sack his chief operating officer, Kevin Lamour, after the Frenchman’s criticism of the World Cup sell-off plan has hardened some opposition to the Fifa president, with the efforts to force him out expected to intensify over the next few days.
On Tuesday Israel became the latest Fifa member to officially withdraw their support for Infantino’s re-election in a letter sent by the head of the Israel Football Association (IFA), Moshe Zuares.
The move is not a surprise as the IFA has been a member of Uefa since 1994 and Zuares sits on the European governing body’s executive committee, but it remains another blow to Infantino, who has invested significant political capital in attempting to improve sporting relations with Palestine.
At Fifa’s congress in April Infantino tried to stage a photo involving the two delegations in Vancouver, but the Palestinian Football Federation president, Jibril Rajoub, refused to stand alongside IFA vice-president, Basim Sheikh Suliman. Undeterred by this setback, Infantino wants Israel and Palestine to compete in the first match of a new under-15 tournament in the United States next month, as reported by the Guardian in June.
In his letter, which has been seen by the Guardian, Zuares says recent events have triggered an “unprecedented crisis of confidence” between the visions of Uefa and Fifa when it comes to global governance, adding that the rift is “profound, substantive, and principled, and compelling all stakeholders to reconsider the path forward”.
In a decision he described as being taken unanimously after a meeting of the IFA’s board, Zuares confirmed: “We have no choice but to retract our previous letter of support, in the sincere hope that fruitful dialogue among all parties will eventually restore a shared, proper vision and direction for world football.”
Israeli’s intervention echoes the withdrawal of support from other Uefa members including England, Wales, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland, and followed confirmation on Monday night that Lamour had left Fifa, having been deeply critical of Infantino’s Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal.
“If that means I lose my job, then so be it,” he said prophetically in a statement on 31 July. “I will understand and respect that decision. At least I’ll sleep well tonight.”
Another Uefa executive committee member, the former Wales Women international Laura McAllister, said the decision to sack Lamour “sends a deeply troubling message” and casts serious doubt over any efforts by the global governing body to recalibrate after the FFE scandal.
McAllister, who is one of five Uefa vice-presidents and worked there with Lamour before his move to Fifa in 2024, praised her former colleague for standing up to Infantino’s doomed scheme. “During the shabby events of the past weeks, he showed himself to be a courageous advocate for the most important stakeholders in football,” she said in a statement. “Kevin’s sacking seriously weakens Fifa’s administration, while undermining this unique opportunity to shift the culture at Fifa and to reset the organisation on sporting values, not simply commercial and financial ones.
“Fifa is not the president, it is the whole football family. As I have said repeatedly, world football needs strong, principled, independent leaders who are prepared to speak up, challenge when necessary, and stand firmly by their values and those of the global game. Instead, the loss of a leader of Kevin’s calibre sends a deeply troubling message to all of us seeking change.”
Meanwhile, Richard Masters, the Premier League chief executive, told the BBC that Infantino pressed the “self-destruct button” over his botched plan to bring private investment into the World Cup.
“This is a problem of Fifa’s making,” Masters said. “This is a self-inflicted wound. The organisation has pressed the self-destruct button, and the consequences of that flow now into the solutions that need to be found.
“I don’t think Fifa should be ever contemplating selling off a stake in the World Cup. They’re a not-for-profit organisation. They should really be holding that competition in trust for the future of football.”
