Confederation presidents say Infantino 'broke trust through deception'

UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation have accused FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino of breaking trust "through deception" in an open letter concerning the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal.

The letter, signed by the confederations' presidents and general secretaries, said the dispute over FFE was fundamentally about "the integrity of the game, and the integrity of those elected to lead it" and noted that Infantino was first elected in 2016.

FFE would have created a new company to manage commercial and ticketing rights for all Fifa competitions, including the World Cups, with 21% of that company sold to a private investment firm.

The proposal was aborted after widespread criticism from several confederations, led by UEFA, which has threatened a boycott of all Fifa competitions.

"When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned," the letter read.

The statement did not name Infantino directly, but sources told BBC Sport the letter should be seen as an opportunity for him to resign and leave his position with dignity.

Fifa issued a statement on Saturday evening that strongly criticised a "concerted and ongoing effort" to "undermine" the organisation and Infantino.

The confederations' letter called for a review to be "conducted by a fully independent third party"; Fifa has committed to present a report to the Fifa Council in October.