FAI withdraws support for Gianni Infantino to be re-elected as Fifa President

THE FAI HAS confirmed that is has withdrawn its support for Gianni Infantino to be re-elected as Fifa President.

An FAI statement read: “Following an FAI Board Meeting, the decision was taken to rescind the letter of support that the Association supplied earlier this year. It has since written to Fifa to explain its reasoning.

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“The Association is grateful for the support that Fifa provides to Irish football, but recent events have raised significant concerns regarding governance, transparency and the lack of meaningful consultation.

“Considering the governance challenges that the FAI has had to overcome in recent years, the Association feels a particular obligation to advocate for and uphold best practice.”

Infantino has been under pressure since a controversial plan to sell stakes in a company to run the Fifa World Cup to private investors first emerged on 28 July.

The fallout led to calls for Infantino to resign.

The pressure on the Swiss intensified last week as he faced allegations from a British newspaper on Friday that he paid off a lover while working at European governing body Uefa.

Last weekend, Fifa condemned what it described as “a concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine” Fifa and its president.