Fifa vice-president Sandor Csanyi tells Gianni Infantino he has ‘lost confidence’ in him

Sandor Csanyi, Hungary’s football federation chief and a vice-president of Fifa, told Fifa president Gianni Infantino in a letter sent on Tuesday that he has "lost the confidence I previously placed in you". The letter was first obtained by Agence France-Presse.

Csanyi wrote that he had become highly critical of Infantino’s "professional judgment, ethical standards and leadership" and described the "unexpected dismissal" of Fifa’s chief operating officer, Kevin Lamour, as "the final straw." He addressed those concerns directly to Infantino in the written statement.

Kevin Lamour was sacked by Fifa on Monday after breaking ranks last month by criticising Infantino over his aborted plan to sell off shares in the World Cup to private investors. Lamour had been serving as Fifa’s chief operating officer when he publicly questioned the proposal.

Csanyi’s letter is the latest in a series of high-level challenges to Infantino and makes him the fifth of Fifa’s eight vice-presidents to call for the president to stand down. The Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin, Concacaf chief Victor Montagliani, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al Khalifa of the Asian Football Confederation and Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt have all made their positions clear.

Of Fifa’s eight vice-presidents, only Alejandro Domínguez of Conmebol, Patrick Motsepe of the Confederation of African Football and Oceania’s Lambert Maltock are named in the source as supporting Infantino. Csanyi is also a member of the 37-strong Fifa council, which the letter says has been repeatedly overlooked by Infantino.

"My conviction that you are capable of continuing to lead Fifa successfully and effectively in accordance with the shared values that previously formed the basis of our cooperation has been undermined," Csanyi wrote. The letter also accuses Infantino of making a number of controversial decisions at this year’s World Cup.

The letter singled out what it called "a number of controversial decisions" and referred specifically to Infantino’s involvement in "plans to outsource Fifa competitions and place them in the hands of external parties."