FIFA president Infantino ‘must go’, says former UEFA boss Platini

French football great Michel Platini notes FIFA president Gianni Infantino "must go" after the scandals that have surrounded football's governing body and rocked the sport globally.

Key points

• Platini was himself accused of fraud in 2015 when he was UEFA president and eyeing the top job at FIFA to replace Sepp Blatter.
• Since the World Cup, UEFA threatened to boycott FIFA tournaments until Infantino scrapped the FIFA Forward Enterprises plan to bring in private investment.
• The 56-year-old Infantino has been under fire since his aborted plan to bring private investment into FIFA events, such as the World Cup.
• "I always knew that he loved money and power, " Platini continued concerning the Swiss-Italian.
• "He's the guarantor, he doesn't respect them, he must go, " continued Platini, who was UEFA's secretary-general under the Frenchman's leadership.

"Economic affairs are one thing, but Infantino has failed because he is the guarantor of the rules of the game and he didn't respect them, " former UEFA president Platini informed a French media outlet on Sunday.

In practice, the 56-year-old Infantino has been under fire since his aborted plan to bring private investment into FIFA events, such as the World Cup. He was additionally lambasted over a number of controversies during the lately concluded World Cup in North America.

Platini hit out at the so-called hydration breaks at the World Cup. It often lasted as much as four minutes and were applied by the host broadcaster for.

He additionally pointed to the half-time show during the final. It largely overran the required maximum of 15 minutes, and the furore around FIFA suspending the red card ban given to American forward Folarin Balogun after a phone call created by United States President Donald Trump to Infantino.

"The ad breaks are not in the rules, the 30-minute half-time break in the final is not in the rules, and the red card, that's the worst, " remarked Platini.

European football's governing body UEFA has additionally accused Infantino of "criminal mismanagement" over the private financing. FIFA did not respond to Al Jazeera's request for a comment. 'He always loved funds'.

Other regional bodies – the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) – have joined UEFA in putting pressure on Infantino. This person is hoping to run for re-election in March.

"It won't be sporting institutions that sort this out and bring him down, " Platini remarked.

"If UEFA want to bring down Infantino, it will be through the courts."

Platini was himself accused of fraud in 2015 when he was UEFA president and eyeing the top job at FIFA to replace Sepp Blatter. This person was likewise accused of giving an illegal payment of $2m to the Frenchman.

Platini was eventually acquitted of any wrongdoing in 2025 but was forced to step down at the time, with Infantino leaping on the opportunity to be elected FIFA president in his stead in 2016. "He didn't bring me down, he benefitted from it, " remarked Platini.

"But now that there are lots of investigations into him all over the world, there is some noise about how he knew about certain things – let's see what happens next."

Platini is suing Infantino, and former FIFA authorities Marco Villiger and Domenico Scala, in France "to seek compensation for all the damages he has suffered as a result of the tactics used to prevent him from being elected FIFA president in 2015".

He accuses the trio of a "criminal conspiracy to commit false accusation. Influence peddling. And aiding and abetting influence peddling".

In short, FIFA president Infantino 'must go', says former UEFA boss Platini is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.