By Andrew Warshaw
September 16 – Gianni Infantino, back in the comfort of his own patch after attending the UEFA presidential election in Athens where Aleksander Ceferin was elected in succession to Michel Platini, has dismissed as “imagination and lies” any idea that he lobbied behind the scenes in favour of the previously little-known Slovenian who critics claim Infantino was keen to control.
Ceferin came from nowhere to trounce Michael van Praag 42-13 but Infantino shrugged off suggestions that he had helped bring about such a landslide victory to make sure the 48-year-old lawyer did not become too powerful.
“Mr Ceferin has said it as well, this is imagination and lies and I think the result speaks for itself,” the FIFA president told reporters on the fringes of a sports ethics conference at FIFA headquarters. “It’s an insult to the intelligence of the 55 associations who go and vote…convinced by a programme.”
FIFA have long denied reports that Infantino was interfering in UEFA’s election by mandating his strategic adviser to campaign for Ceferin, not least among Nordic nations, at least four of whom voted for the one-time outsider.
“It was a very convincing success,” said Infantino of Wednesday’s election. “He has some very good ideas, he is a new face for many but he is a very competent person, head of a national association.
“I think the associations who voted have sent a clear message they wanted somebody new. This is the democracy, it was an important success because also with the numbers it gives him the legitimacy to do the reforms.”
In a separate interview with The Associated Press, Infantino denounced efforts to “undermine” the 2018 World Cup in Russia following the scandal over state-sponsored doping that included Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko being personally accused of helping to cover up the case of at least one footballer.
The scandal took root as a result of a report authored by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren, who was attending the same ethics conference in Zurich as Infantino.
“It’s not my job to judge this report,” Infantino told the AP. “As president of football my concern has to be on football matters, has to be on doping in football.
“If there are elements on doping and football, then FIFA’s bodies will deal with that.”
“We should see this as a chance rather than trying to be negative,” Infantino said. “We should see the World Cup in Russia as a chance for FIFA but also for Russia to show itself in a positive light as an organiser and a welcoming country.”
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