FIFA has condemned what it described as a “concerted and ongoing effort” to undermine the organisation and its president, Gianni Infantino, as opposition to his leadership grows, particularly within Europe.

The latest statement from football’s global governing body followed a report alleging that UEFA made a severance payment to a woman who reportedly had a relationship with Infantino while he was UEFA general secretary.

A FIFA spokesperson said Infantino “strongly denies” the allegations, describing them as “categorically untrue.”

FIFA subsequently rejected what it called “unsubstantiated assertions and demonstrably false claims”, warning against presenting speculation and insinuation as established fact.

The dispute comes amid mounting tensions between Infantino and UEFA, as well as several European football associations, over his now-abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal.

The plan would have created a new company to manage FIFA’s commercial and ticketing rights, with a 21 per cent stake proposed for sale to a private investment company.

UEFA has said it has lost confidence in Infantino, while Norwegian Football Federation president Lise Klaveness has called for his resignation.

UEFA has also kept open the possibility of boycotting FIFA events, saying it has not received sufficient assurances that the FFE proposal cannot be revived.

FIFA, however, maintained that Infantino remains in office with the backing of its member associations.

“The FIFA president was democratically elected by FIFA’s Member Associations and continues to serve with their mandate,” the organisation said.

The governing body accused some individuals of attempting to use allegations and misinformation to achieve what they could not accomplish through FIFA’s established democratic processes.

Despite the opposition from UEFA and some European federations, Infantino continues to receive backing from several major football bodies outside Europe.

The Mexican Football Federation has supported the FIFA president, while South American governing body CONMEBOL has maintained that any attempt to remove him should be decided through a vote involving all 211 FIFA member associations.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF), which represents 54 African football associations, has also expressed support for Infantino.

His position therefore remains supported by several major football organisations outside Europe despite the growing criticism from UEFA and some European federations.

Infantino met members of the FIFA management board in Rabat, Morocco, on Wednesday, as tensions over the FFE proposal continued.

Following the meeting, FIFA issued a statement on behalf of Infantino and Secretary General Mattias Grafström, apologising for the FFE proposal while warning that it would “no longer tolerate any attacks on its integrity, good governance and due process.”

In its latest response, FIFA said disagreements over its decisions should not be used as grounds to discredit the organisation or its leadership.

“Change inevitably challenges established interests, but disagreement with that change cannot justify efforts to undermine the democratic mandate of FIFA’s president or the institution he was elected to lead,” it said.

FIFA added that it remained open to legitimate scrutiny but would challenge reporting it considers inaccurate or misleading.

“Where reporting is inaccurate or misleading, FIFA will challenge it directly and vigorously.”