Soccer-Swiss Football Association withdraws support for Infantino

The headquarters of the Swiss Football Association (ASF - SFV) is pictured in Bern, Switzerland August 9, 2021. Picture taken August 9, 2021. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

ZURICH, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The ⁠Swiss Football Association (SFV) has withdrawn its support for Gianni ⁠Infantino's bid for another term as FIFA president, the ‌organisation said on Wednesday.

The executive committee reversed its support for the Swiss soccer administrator in a meeting on September 25 after endorsing his candidacy in June.

"The ​decision follows a comprehensive reassessment of developments ⁠over the past few months," ⁠the SFV said in a statement.

"From the SFV's perspective, various incidents ⁠raise ‌fundamental questions regarding leadership, governance, transparency and decision-making processes within FIFA," it added.

Infantino, who is seeking re-election in ⁠March, has faced growing opposition since his bid ​in July to ‌sell a stake in FIFA tournaments, including the World ⁠Cup, which he ​was forced to abandon.

The withdrawal is the latest blow to Infantino, with football associations in England, Wales, France, Serbia and other European ⁠countries having already pulled their endorsements ahead ​of the election. UEFA has pledged to present a rival candidate before the November deadline.

The 56-year-oldInfantino, who has been FIFA president since ⁠2016, has faced calls for his resignation amid widespread pleas for reform in global soccer's governing body.

Infantino wrote this month in a letter to member associations that he was open to talks ​over reform, but the SFV said key ⁠questions regarding FIFA's responsibilities and decision-making process had been left unanswered.

"As ​these have not been convincingly clarified, we ‌cannot justify continuing to support Gianni ​Infantino’s candidacy,” the SFVadded.

(Reporting by Marleen Kaesebier in Zurich, additional reporting by Chiranjit Ojha, editing by Ed Osmond)

Thank you for your report!

2021年8月9日，瑞士足球协会（ASF - SFV）总部在瑞士伯尔尼拍摄。图片来源：路透社/Denis Balibouse

苏黎世，9 月 30 日（路透社）——瑞士足球协会（SFV）周三表示，该协会已撤回对詹尼·因凡蒂诺竞选连任国际足联主席的支持。

执行委员会在9月25日的一次会议上推翻了对这位瑞士足球管理者的支持，此前该委员会曾在6月份支持过他的候选资格。

“这一决定是在对过去几个月的事态发展进行全面重新评估后做出的，”SFV在一份声明中表示。

“从SFV的角度来看，各种事件引发了关于国际足联内部的领导层、治理、透明度和决策过程的根本性问题，”声明补充道。

因凡蒂诺将于 3 月寻求连任，自 7 月他试图出售其在国际足联赛事（包括世界杯）中的股份以来，他面临的反对声浪越来越大，最终他被迫放弃了出售世界杯的计划。

此次撤回对因凡蒂诺的打击可谓雪上加霜，此前英格兰、威尔士、法国、塞尔维亚和其他欧洲国家的足球协会已在选举前撤回了对他们的支持。欧足联承诺将在11月截止日期前推出新的候选人。

现年 56 岁的因凡蒂诺自 2016 年以来一直担任国际足联主席，在全球足球管理机构改革的呼声日益高涨之际，他面临着辞职的呼声。

因凡蒂诺本月在给各成员协会的一封信中写道，他愿意就改革进行谈判，但SFV表示，有关国际足联的责任和决策过程的关键问题仍未得到解答。

“由于这些问题尚未得到令人信服的澄清，我们无法继续支持詹尼·因凡蒂诺的候选资格，”SFV补充道。

（苏黎世 Marleen Kaesebier 报道，Chiranjit Ojha 补充报道，Ed Osmond 编辑）

感谢您的报告！