FIFA has escalated its legal battle with UEFA by filing court documents that characterise UEFA's disclosure request as a "misinformation campaign" and harassment designed to interfere with FIFA's presidential election. The world governing body explicitly refused to release evidence relating to the now-shelved Fifa Forward Enterprise scheme, arguing that UEFA's allegations of criminal mismanagement and personal profiteering by president Gianni Infantino are "categorically without merit". This aggressive response marks a significant intensification of tensions between football's two major governing bodies.

The dispute centres on the abandoned FFE proposal, which would have sold stakes in World Cup and other competitions to private investors. UEFA filed legal papers in the US Federal Court for the Southern District of Florida alleging that Infantino had acted in bad faith and stood to benefit personally from the scheme. Infantino faces calls to step down from three confederations and will contest a fourth presidential election in March 2027, with opposing candidates to be nominated by 18 November. The Football Association chair and FIFA vice-president Debbie Hewitt has separately demanded full document disclosure and an independent review of the FFE plan.