FIFA President Faces Renewed Scrutiny Over Six-Figure Payout and 30% Salary Boost From UEFA Tenure
Published on 08/09/2026 at 01:11 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The allegations surfaced on August 8, 2026, and they reach back more than a decade into Gianni Infantino's time as UEFA's general secretary. At the center of the controversy is a former close aide who, according to reports, received financial packages that went well beyond what is standard in football administration.
The payments in question
UEFA paid the employee a severance package in 2011 that ran into six figures. On top of that one-time payment, the governing body covered the cost of her MBA studies, with tuition fees estimated at roughly 52,500 euros or about 45,000 pounds per year.
What has added particular fuel to the fire is the salary trajectory recorded just before she left the organization. Her pay was increased by 30 percent, bringing it to approximately 160,000 Swiss francs. The Telegraph has reported that Infantino personally negotiated these terms while serving as UEFA's general secretary, a position he held between 2009 and 2016. Media reports have also alleged that a personal relationship existed between Infantino and the employee.
Conflicting responses from the two governing bodies
The fallout has produced sharply divergent reactions. UEFA has officially confirmed that the payments were made. FIFA, speaking on behalf of its president, has rejected the accusations outright, and Infantino himself denies the allegations forcefully.
UEFA has already launched an internal investigation into how the payments were approved and whether internal policies or legal requirements were breached. What remains unclear is the role Michel Platini, then UEFA president, played in the process. There is also no detailed information available about the circumstances that led to the employee's departure in the first place.
Timing adds pressure
These revelations land at a delicate moment for Infantino, who is fighting to secure his future at the helm of world football's governing body. The questions around severance practices have reopened broader debates about governance and transparency in the upper ranks of major sports organizations.
Legal experts note that how such agreements are judged depends heavily on whether internal control mechanisms were followed. Given that the events in question happened more than ten years ago, the practical consequences of UEFA's investigation for Infantino's current position remain uncertain. FIFA, for its part, continues to stress its president's integrity and characterizes the reports as an unfounded campaign against him.
