UEFA preparing to bring criminal proceedings against Gianni Infantino over plan to sell shares in World Cup

European football's governing body UEFA is preparing to bring criminal proceedings against FIFA President Gianni Infantino over the attempt to sell shares in the World Cup to private investors, according to legal filings obtained by Sky News.

Mr Infantino is accused of trying to "fraudulently" sell off the tournaments in legal documents lodged by UEFA in the United States to subpoena FIFA and its financial partners to obtain evidence related to the scheme.

But the planned legal action would be launched in Switzerland, where FIFA has its main headquarters.

It is a significant move by UEFA in its bid to go beyond trying to oust Mr Infantino from power over the attempt to privatise part of the World Cup.

A legal document seen by Sky News said: "UEFA and other interested parties are preparing to bring criminal claims in Switzerland against Infantino and possibly other FIFA officials and advisors for criminal mismanagement under Article 158 of the Swiss Criminal Code and such further or alternative charges as the developed factual record may support, arising out of the secretive structuring, valuation, financing, and marketing of a transaction that inflicted direct and concrete injury on FIFA's reputation, governance authority, and commercial relationships to the detriment of FIFA as well as its 211 members, including UEFA's 55 member associations."

The application was lodged by UEFA in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against JP Morgan Bank as well as planned lead investor Thrive Capital and its CEO, Joshua Kushner, who is the brother of Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

UEFA is targeting FIFA through courts in Miami, where the world body's legal team is based.

UEFA says in the legal document about the World Cup venture: "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."

The aim was to sell about 20% of a new subsidiary to sell the rights to FIFA's competitions, raising $4.2bn from private investors - described by UEFA as "a fraudulently off-market price promoted by Infantino for his own benefit".

"Infantino claimed that the plan would 'unleash the commercial potential and opportunity that FIFA has'," UEFA's legal filing says.

"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.

"Under the terms Infantino announced, those investors stood to acquire a permanent financial interest in FIFA's commercial arm for $4.2 billion, implying an absurdly low enterprise value of only approximately $20bn, a figure that was neither the product of an open, competitive auction, nor tested by any independent valuer."

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While FIFA tried to portray the process as a consultation for members, the scheme was negotiated in secret by Mr Infantino away from the ruling council for months and was only confirmed after plans leaked out a week after the World Cup final.

"Infantino's exclusion of the FIFA Council was by itself a stunning dereliction of duty," UEFA's legal team told the American courts.

Sky News first revealed Mr Infantino's announcement that the scheme was being dropped to stave off a growing backlash at the start of the month, hours after we also disclosed how his senior adviser, Carlos Cordeiro, had quit in protest about the "bad deal".

Boycott plan scrapped

Confirming our report from Wednesday, UEFA has now said it is dropping a plan to boycott FIFA competitions so youth teams from Europe can still participate in the coming months.

But with a senior Women's World Cup next year, UEFA said after a meeting of member associations in Monaco: "This position will remain under constant review and may be reconsidered immediately if circumstances so require."

It is understood the UEFA meeting did not specifically discuss a candidate to take on Mr Infantino, but did look at preventing a future FIFA leader gaining as much individual control again.

"Those present unanimously mandated the UEFA President and Administration to pursue every available institutional, political and legal avenue necessary to secure fundamental reform, restore proper limits on presidential authority and ensure that FIFA is once again governed as an institution - not around one individual," UEFA said in a statement.

"FIFA must once again be governed as an institution serving football - not operate as an instrument of individual power."

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