Gianni Infantino is at the heart of a new controversy. Already criticized after his aborted plan to privatize the World Cup, the president of Fifa is the subject of new revelations. According to the New York Times And The Worldthe governing body of world football would have taken care of its taxes for three years, in 2024, 2025 and 2026.
In total, Fifa would have paid nearly 4 million dollars, or around 3.6 million euros, to settle the tax obligations of its president. However, this tax equalization mechanism was put in place so as not to “advantage nor disadvantage” members of the body based in the United States as part of the organization of the World Cup. It should normally concern the employees of the body, and not its elected officials, like Gianni Infantino.
A fourth mandate already weakened?
This support would nevertheless have been granted to him from 2024, following a meeting of a very restricted committee responsible for setting the remuneration of senior Fifa officials. According to the two media, however, this decision was never formalized in official documents. The subject was notably put on the table by Bruno Chiomento, a Swiss lawyer at the head of the body’s independent governance, audit and compliance commission, and close to Gianni Infantino for around twenty years.
This new affair adds to the controversies surrounding the presidency of the Italian-Swiss leader. The latter will still try to run for a fourth term on March 18, in Vancouver, Canada. For the moment, he is the only declared candidate for his own succession.
