Uefa allegedly paid off Infantino’s mistress amid leadership crisis

UEFA was aware of an allegation that it paid a six-figure severance to an alleged mistress of Gianni Infantino while he was its general secretary, tightening scrutiny on the FIFA president as he denied the claim. The woman was also allegedly promoted, taking a 30% pay rise to an annual salary of about 160,000 Swiss francs, or £147,000, and later received funding for an MBA.

Infantino strongly denied that UEFA paid off his alleged mistress while he held the general secretary post. The allegation landed after UEFA had already said it had "lost confidence" in him on 1 August over his abandoned plan to sell a stake in future World Cup profits to private investors.

That investment proposal had been put to FIFA's 211 member associations before FIFA withdrew it after fierce criticism. On 5 August, Infantino held crisis talks in Morocco after the backlash, while FIFA executives Arsène Wenger and Mattias Grafstrom publicly distanced themselves from the plan.

UEFA has kept its boycott threat against FIFA competitions in place, leaving Infantino under pressure from both the payment allegation and the dispute over World Cup revenue. The latest claims have widened the conflict between Europe's governing body and FIFA, where questions over executive oversight have now become a central part of the leadership fight.