European football's governing body has threatened FIFA with legal action over Gianni Infantino's failed plan to sell a stake in future World Cup profits to private investors, and has ordered the world governing body to preserve all related documents as potential evidence.
The letter, dated Friday 31 July and sent by the New York law firm Dechert on UEFA's behalf, was seen by The Associated Press on Monday. In it, UEFA's lawyers state that the European body is "actively considering legal action, arbitration, and/or regulatory complaints ... arising out of and in connection with the FFE (FIFA Forward Enterprise) plan proposed by FIFA and all related matters". The letter names 18 FIFA executives who should retain data, documents and electronic messages as potential evidence, and warns that "any destruction, deletion, alteration, concealment, or loss of relevant materials following receipt of this notice — or following any earlier date on which you were, or reasonably should have been, aware that proceedings were anticipated — may constitute spoliation of evidence".
Infantino's proposal — a $20 billion spin-off that would have taken control of FIFA's commercial and tournament operations — was withdrawn early on Saturday, days after the revelation provoked a global backlash. UEFA led the opposition: on Thursday its 55 member federations agreed to boycott all FIFA events and competitions while the proposal was active, and on Saturday UEFA said Infantino had lost the confidence of world soccer and that "no option should be off the table". The plan had offered each of FIFA's 211 member federations one-off payments of $20 million with a mid-September deadline to accept. The FFE spin-off, valued at $20 billion, would have let external investors buy minority stakes, with the New York investment firm of Joshua Kushner among those expected to take part.
