UEFA Files Criminal Complaint Against Gianni Infantino Over Bid to Sell Off Part of the World Cup

A plan to sell off a stake in the World Cup for $20 billion has, months later, turned into the threat of a criminal complaint against the man who pushed it. And that man is none other than FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

UEFA confirmed on Thursday that it had filed documents with a court in Manhattan to gain access to evidence it believes will support a future criminal complaint against Infantino in Switzerland. This is no mere symbolic gesture: according to sources consulted by ESPN, the European governing body is already working with its lawyers on the possibility of taking the case to Swiss courts, where FIFA is headquartered in Nyon.

What exactly is he accused of? Of allegedly, and fraudulently, offering a 20 percent stake in FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), the subsidiary that runs the organization's commercial events, including the World Cup, without following due process or first consulting FIFA's governing body.

A New York Fund at the Center of the Story

The name that keeps coming up throughout this saga is Thrive Capital Management, the New York investment fund founded by Joshua Kushner. Alongside JP Morgan, Thrive was set to act as the lead investor in the deal, committing to pay $4.2 billion for that 20 percent stake in FIFA's commercial subsidiary.

ESPN obtained a 60-page document that has already been delivered to FIFA at its offices in Coral Gables, Florida, as well as to Thrive and JP Morgan in New York. Financier Greg Maffei, chief executive of BANN Ventures, received a copy at his office in Denver. All parties were asked to hand over communications and documentation related to the attempted sale.

What stands out is how UEFA's lawyers describe that $4.2 billion figure. In the document, they state that UEFA "is contemplating the possibility of initiating criminal proceedings in Switzerland against Infantino and, possibly, other FIFA officials for disloyal management, under Article 158 of the Swiss Criminal Code." They go further, suggesting that the price could be "fraudulent, detached from market conditions, and promoted by Infantino for his own benefit."

A Plan That Didn't Survive the Backlash

The reaction from world soccer was swift and forceful. Officials from UEFA, the AFC and Concacaf openly opposed the idea of selling a stake in a tournament that, in theory, belongs to the sport itself and not to private investors. The pressure worked: Infantino ultimately scrapped the plan on August 1.

This week, UEFA went a step further and dropped its threat to boycott FIFA-organized tournaments after receiving assurances that there would be no new attempts to sell off a stake in the nonprofit organization. But the fact that the boycott threat has been withdrawn doesn't mean the chapter is closed: the criminal route in Switzerland remains on the table, and everything suggests the legal fight is only just beginning.