FIFA accuses European body UEFA of 'smear campaign' in filing related to World Cup sell-off plan

FIFA accused European soccer body UEFA of a “smear campaign” in a court filing on Thursday concerning FIFA President Gianni Infantino's failed plan to sell stakes in the World Cup and other competitions.

Last week, UEFA filed requests for discovery of evidence connected to Infantino's proposal in three U.S. courts.

“While these applications are styled as legal pleadings with captions and docket numbers, they are little more than press releases in further support of UEFA’s smear campaign against FIFA and its leadership,” FIFA said in a filing in U.S. District Court in Colorado.

FIFA’s filing in Colorado on Thursday was a motion to intervene, asking that the discovery process be deferred or dropped.

One of UEFA's discovery requests was filed in the Southern District of New York and seeks disclosure of documents from Josh Kushner and his investment firm Thrive Capital Management. Kushner is the younger brother of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law.

Thrive was involved in Infantino's FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity for $4.2 billion. FIFA withdrew the proposal on Aug. 1, just days after it was made public, after intense pushback.

Other court filings seeking discovery of evidence related to the World Cup sell-off were filed in Florida, where FIFA had its 2026 World Cup operational base, and in Colorado, against an adviser to Infantino, Greg Maffei, once the CEO of Liberty Media.

In a statement Monday to the outlet Axios, Kushner defended the proposal but said he did not anticipate the pushback.

“While we stand behind the motivations of FFE, we failed to appreciate the political dynamics of global football, and the lengths some would go to. Thrive has a long track record of being a partner to all constituents. Had we known what this would devolve into, we would not have gotten involved,” the statement said.

Kushner also agreed last month to purchase the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers with partner Bob Iger.

UEFA has said in court documents that it is preparing a criminal complaint against Infantino in Swiss courts for possible financial mismanagement.

“Infantino claimed that the plan would ‘unleash the commercial potential and opportunity that FIFA has,’” UEFA lawyers told the courts. “In truth, it was a vehicle for Infantino and that small circle to acquire a permanent stake in and otherwise profit from FIFA’s most valuable assets to the detriment of FIFA, its members, and other parties within the football family.”

FIFA argued that UEFA's request “suffers from a fundamental defect: UEFA seeks discovery in aid of a foreign criminal proceeding that does not exist and that UEFA admittedly lacks the authority to initiate.”

In the filing, FIFA accused UEFA of coercing its European federations to oppose the plan.