Gianni Infantino REFUSES to resign as FIFA president: Under-fire chief apologises and vows to fight on as he breaks cover after being forced to abandon World Cup sale plans
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has refused calls to resign despite mounting criticism over his leadership, issuing an apology while insisting he will continue in the role. The under-fire chief broke his silence after being forced to abandon controversial plans to sell hosting or commercial rights linked to the World Cup, a move that had drawn heavy backlash from within football. His defiance sets up a continuing power struggle at the top of world football's governing body.
Football legend Luis Figo was among the most vocal critics, branding Infantino's conduct "the lowest, most deceitful and cravenly self-interested" he has witnessed, accusing him of consistently prioritising the interests of his allies over the sport. Despite the scale of the criticism and the scrapped World Cup sale plans, Infantino has vowed to fight on rather than step down from the FIFA presidency.
- Infantino refuses to resign as FIFA president despite pressure.
- He apologised after ditching World Cup sale plans.
- Luis Figo says Infantino's behaviour is deceitful and self-serving.
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Gianni Infantino has led FIFA, football's global governing body, since 2016. He recently pushed plans to sell off elements of the World Cup, such as hosting or commercial rights, but dropped these after significant opposition from within the sport. That climbdown fed into wider criticism of how he runs the organisation, with some calling for him to step down.
Among his critics is Luis Figo, the former Portugal international and one of the sport's best-known figures, who has publicly attacked Infantino's conduct in strong terms. Infantino has rejected calls to resign and says he intends to remain in post.
The dispute matters because FIFA oversees football worldwide, including organising the World Cup and setting rules that affect the sport's finances and governance globally. A prolonged standoff over Infantino's leadership could shape decisions about the game's biggest competitions and how the organisation is run in the years ahead.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Supporters of Infantino remaining in post argue that a single controversial proposal, since withdrawn, does not on its own justify the removal of a sitting president who was elected by FIFA's full membership and has delivered commercial growth and World Cup expansion during his tenure. They contend that resigning under pressure, rather than allowing due process and the organisation's own governance structures to run their course, would set a troubling precedent of leaders being forced out by vocal critics rather than by formal accountability mechanisms. An apology and a change of course, in this view, demonstrates responsiveness rather than unfitness for office, and stability at the top serves the wider football community better than a disruptive leadership vacuum.
The case against
Critics argue that the scale and tone of the backlash, including a former World Player of the Year publicly branding his conduct deceitful and self-interested, reflects a genuine crisis of trust rather than a passing controversy, and that FIFA's president should be held to a higher standard of transparency given the organisation's troubled history with governance scandals. They contend that abandoning the World Cup sale plans only after significant internal and public pressure suggests the decision was reactive rather than principled, raising legitimate doubts about whose interests are being prioritised. For those holding this view, refusing to resign in the face of such criticism signals an unwillingness to be held accountable, and genuine reform may require new leadership rather than assurances from the same individual.
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