The fault line between UEFA and FIFA opened again on Tuesday afternoon, with Aleksander Ceferin using the European Football Clubs general assembly to launch a fresh attack on Gianni Infantino.
FIFA’s president had been invited to the meeting but did not attend. In his absence, Ceferin told the room that the time had come to say “enough”, accusing his counterpart of acting without properly involving the clubs and wider football community.
Ceferin pointed to discussions around selling part of the World Cup’s commercial rights to private investment funds, presenting the idea as a threat to the game’s long-term ownership. “Imagine people talking behind your back about selling your heritage,” he said.
He also criticised Infantino over FIFA’s peace prize, which was awarded to United States president Donald Trump without prior consultation. Ceferin cited it as another example of major decisions being taken without those affected being informed.
“Football is not for sale”
The UEFA president framed the dispute in broader terms than a personal battle at the top of the sport. “Football is bigger than the people who run it,” Ceferin said. “Nobody has the right to sell its future. Football is not for sale, not today and not tomorrow.”
His remarks underline the continuing tension over football’s governance and the growing commercial pressure surrounding its biggest competitions. For European clubs and leagues, including those in Ligue 1, the argument reaches far beyond one meeting room: it concerns who controls the revenues, direction and identity of the game in the years ahead.
