Shortly before the meeting of UEFA member associations in Berlin, DFB President Bernd Neuendorf has further distanced himself from Gianni Infantino.
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf has stepped up his criticism of Gianni Infantino and called for the FIFA boss to be shown a red card. “We must send him off,” said the senior official in an interview with the Tagesspiegel. He will not be voting for Infantino in March.
“Gianni Infantino is no longer tenable as FIFA president. He has done great harm to football,” Neuendorf continued. There is a consensus within the DFB: Infantino has “squandered all trust”. A meeting of all 55 UEFA member associations is scheduled for this Wednesday in Berlin.
Neuendorf had previously described Infantino’s reform proposal to FIFA’s 211 member associations as a “transparent manoeuvre”. He claimed the Swiss official’s aim was to secure his re-election next year.
No rival candidate for Infantino so far
Infantino had previously responded to the ongoing criticism of his leadership style and, for the first time, offered his opponents talks on possible reforms within FIFA. In the letter, Infantino announced an independent external review of FIFA’s governance, as well as consultations on strengthening decision-making processes, including the role of the president.
At the same time, the 56-year-old made it clear that he intends to continue leading FIFA. There is no suggestion that he will not stand for a fourth term at the Congress in March 2027. This is what his critics, led by UEFA President Aleksandar Ceferin, are calling for. So far, there is no rival candidate to Infantino. His opponents have until 18 November to put forward a candidate for the presidential election to be held three months later in Morocco. That is when the FIFA deadline expires.
Neuendorf: “Don’t put the fox in charge of the henhouse”
“Infantino has been in office for ten years and has established a culture within FIFA that requires fundamental change. But we cannot put the fox in charge of the henhouse,” Neuendorf warned in the *Tagesspiegel*. “ It is unacceptable that the person responsible for the current state of affairs should be steering the urgently needed reform process.”
At the end of August, the dispute had escalated with the threat of criminal charges being brought against Infantino in Swiss courts in connection with the World Cup investor plans. To this end, information about the planned deals was requested from US courts.
