FIFA has accused European soccer governing body UEFA of conducting a “smear campaign” against the organization and its leadership as a legal dispute intensifies over FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s abandoned proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup and other competitions.
The accusation came in a court filing Thursday after UEFA sought evidence related to the controversial investment proposal in three U.S. courts.
In a filing with the U.S. District Court in Colorado, FIFA argued that UEFA’s legal applications amounted to little more than an attempt to publicly damage FIFA and its leadership.
“While these applications are styled as legal pleadings with captions and docket numbers, they are little more than press releases in further support of UEFA’s smear campaign against FIFA and its leadership,” FIFA said.
FIFA filed a motion to intervene in the Colorado case, seeking to have the discovery process delayed or dismissed.
One of UEFA’s requests, filed in the Southern District of New York, seeks documents from investor Josh Kushner and his investment firm, Thrive Capital Management. Kushner is the younger brother of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
Thrive Capital was involved in Infantino’s FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, which sought to raise $4.2 billion by selling stakes linked to the World Cup and other FIFA competitions to private investors.
FIFA withdrew the proposal on August 1, just days after details became public, following intense opposition within international soccer.
Additional UEFA filings seeking evidence connected to the proposal were submitted in Florida, where FIFA established its operational base for the 2026 World Cup, and in Colorado, targeting Greg Maffei, a former Liberty Media chief executive who has advised Infantino.
Kushner defended the motivation behind the proposal in a statement to Axios on Monday but acknowledged that those involved had underestimated the political sensitivities surrounding global soccer.
He said Thrive stood behind the objectives of FIFA Forward Enterprise but would not have become involved had the company anticipated the level of controversy the proposal would generate.
The dispute has further intensified tensions between FIFA and UEFA as the European governing body seeks documents and other evidence surrounding how the proposed multibillion-dollar investment arrangement was developed.
Separately, Kushner agreed last month to purchase the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers alongside business partner Bob Iger.
