Guardian columnist Barney Ronay argues that Gianni Infantino's grip on Fifa's presidency may finally be weakening, six weeks after revelations of a covert plan to sell off World Cup-related assets for personal gain. The turning point, he suggests, is not the mounting public criticism but two recent legal developments tied to a threatened Uefa lawsuit: signs that Donald Trump's key allies are distancing themselves from Infantino as the threat of legal discovery looms, exposing potentially damaging internal documents and communications.

The article highlights Josh Kushner, the financier behind Fifa's troubled "Forward" scheme, who has been named in a Florida discovery order and issued a statement saying he "would not have gotten involved" had he known the full picture, while hiring high-profile lawyer Alex Spiro. Fifa itself has filed a counter-response dismissing the affair as a "smear campaign" but revealing its anxiety about the discovery process. Ronay notes that Trump's earlier public backing of Infantino, expressed via Truth Social in early August, was always somewhat qualified, and the prospect of documents surfacing linked to the president's circle is seen as a serious threat to Infantino's previously untouchable position ahead of a rival presidential challenge expected next March.