Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has strongly criticised Fifa president Gianni Infantino over a since-abandoned plan to sell off a stake in the World Cup, saying the governing body had "pressed the self-destruct button" and inflicted a "self-inflicted wound" on itself. The row centres on the aborted Fifa Forward Enterprise scheme, which would have handed 21% of a new company controlling commercial and ticketing rights for all Fifa competitions, including the World Cup, to a private investor. Masters' comments reflect growing discontent within the sport's governing structures and add to mounting pressure on Infantino ahead of his bid for a fourth term as Fifa president.

Masters backed the English FA's decision to withdraw support for Infantino and called for a "unity candidate" to emerge before the 18 November nomination deadline, though he declined to name potential contenders. The proposal was dropped after fierce opposition led by Uefa, which threatened a boycott, and last week Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation jointly accused Fifa and Infantino of breaking trust "through deception". However, Infantino retains backing from the confederations of Africa, South America and Oceania, as well as senior executives who met in Morocco. Masters made the remarks in a wide-ranging BBC Sport interview ahead of the new Premier League season, which starts on Friday with Arsenal hosting Coventry.