By Andrew Warshaw
September 17 – Has Germany made an unwanted tactical mistake in its bid to win next week’s vote for Euro 2024 when it goes head to head with Turkey?
According to media reports, Reinhard Grindel, head of the German Football Association who has made it his business to try and do everything by the book amid the fallout over Germany’s murky 2006 World Cup bid process, exchanged “heated letters” with Gianni Infantino in November last year over the latter’s contacts with controversial Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
According to Der Spiegel, Grindel was unhappy that Infantino apparently praised the Turkish bid and decided to write to the FIFA president about alleged interference in the 2024 bid process.
Infantino’s reply, says Der Spiegel, was something of a put-down of Grindel, one of his own FIFA Council members.
“First, I must express my surprise and disappointment over the tone and content of your letter,” the publication reported Infantino as saying.
“Before sending such a letter, I would have personally found it more appropriate to have a direct discussion, to know exactly what happened and to avoid relying solely on accusations made in the media.”
Revelation of the correspondence exchange has added to the tension in the build-up to next week’s vote, the last ballot for either of football’s two major international tournaments for the next few years.
Although FIFA has no direct role in deciding who hosts the Euros, as head of football’s world governing body and as a former secretary general of UEFA, Infantino’s influence is not without significance.
According to Der Spiegel, a draft campaign strategy by PR agency Burson-Marsteller, which is assisting Germany’s 2024 bid, lists Infantino is listed as a “key” influential figure.
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