[2026 World Cup] Former UEFA President Platini Sues FIFA President Infantino... Decade-Long Feud Returns to Court

Once Close as UEFA President and Secretary General
Relationship Soured After the 2016 FIFA Presidential Election

Michel Platini, former Vice President of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and former President of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), has filed civil and criminal lawsuits against FIFA President Gianni Infantino, according to reports by AFP and others on June 9 (local time). The conflict surrounding the 2016 FIFA presidential election has resurfaced in the courts a decade later.

Platini has filed a complaint with a French court against President Infantino, former FIFA legal director Marco Villiger, and former FIFA audit committee chairman Domenico Scala. Platini has requested an investigation, claiming that Infantino—then UEFA Secretary General—and other football officials conspired to frame him in order to block his election ahead of the 2016 FIFA presidential race.

Former UEFA President Michel Platini. Photo by AP News Agency

Platini and Infantino were once very close. During his tenure as UEFA Secretary General, Infantino was described as the closest aide to then-UEFA President Michel Platini. After Platini was elected UEFA President in 2007, he appointed Infantino to a key position. Infantino then oversaw UEFA’s operations, playing a central role as one of Platini’s top aides.

However, their relationship turned hostile in the wake of the 2016 FIFA presidential election.

In 2015, a major corruption scandal erupted at FIFA. Although FIFA President Sepp Blatter secured a fifth term, he announced his intention to resign due to international pressure, leading to a new presidential election in 2016. Platini was considered Blatter’s likely successor, but at the end of 2015, allegations surfaced that he had improperly received a 2 million Swiss franc (3.81 billion won) advisory fee from FIFA in 2011. The payment had been approved by Blatter at the time. Following Platini’s downfall, Infantino ran in the 2016 FIFA presidential election and was elected.

Platini and former President Blatter were indicted by Swiss prosecutors on charges including fraud, embezzlement, and forgery, but were acquitted in a final ruling in September last year.

In a counterattack, Platini claimed that prosecutors had colluded with Infantino’s camp and also filed a complaint against then-Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber. In a statement, Platini asserted that the French investigating judge and authorities have a duty to uncover whether Swiss judicial officials conspired and whether there was an internal FIFA plot to block his election as president.

Gianni Infantino, President of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). Photo by AP Yonhap News.

Platini had also filed similar charges against President Infantino in 2021. However, he expressed frustration when French prosecutors handed the case over to Swiss authorities, arguing that Swiss law did not provide grounds to prosecute some of the charges. Swiss prosecutors also investigated media reports that President Infantino and then-special prosecutor Lauber, who led the FIFA corruption investigation, held three secret meetings between 2016 and 2017, but closed the case in 2023.

Platini and Blatter, who have been bitter rivals with Infantino for over ten years, are now seizing on growing criticism of FIFA's commercialization and politicization to launch daily attacks against Infantino.

On the same day, former President Blatter mocked the expansion of the World Cup finals to 48 nations in an interview with Swiss outlet SRF, saying, "We might as well make it 128 teams and hold a Grand Slam like in tennis." He also criticized Infantino's leadership, stating, "Only players can become kings of football, never the administrators."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.