England urged to act over FIFA row
Several former FA chiefs have urged England to snub the next World Cup in response to Gianni Infantino's plan to sell stakes in FIFA's major tournaments.
The FIFA president has announced his proposal, which has been widely condemned across the footballing world, as he seeks to create a commercial subsidiary to run its main events - and outside investors will be able to purchase those stakes.
UEFA have called out FIFA and that has led to backlash from federations in Asia and North America. The FA have said they were "completely unaware of this proposal" and they are "deeply concerned about the lack of process and governance".
Several men who have stood at the top of English football have taken aim at FIFA's plans and have backed extreme measures in a bid to rebel against FIFA - which includes not playing at the next World Cup that is being held in Spain and Portugal.
David Bernstein, who took a public stand against Infantino’s predecessor Sepp Blatter when he was FA chairman, claimed that the FIFA plan
“stinks”and England should
"have to have the guts” to boycott the World Cup.
Mark Palios, the former FA chief executive, said:
“UEFA have a real card to play, and that is if they don’t turn up at the next World Cup that’s going to be an absolute financial disaster for FIFA.”
He added:
“If you don’t have Spain, France, England, Germany there, then it’s not going to be anything like the spectacle that it normally is. That’s the major card they have to play and I hope they do play that.”
The divide between UEFA and FIFA is already well established with Aleksander Ceferin and Infantino not seeing eye-to-eye, so much so that Ceferin didn't attend the World Cup. Europe's governing body were outspoken about some of the decisions taken in the World Cup, including the Folarin Balogun red card saga.
Infantino has attempted to sell his plan and claimed on Wednesday:
"It is an opportunity but not an obligation. It is a golden opportunity to turbocharge the development of the game globally. But again, it is just an offer, not an obligation."
The FIFA boss also tried to sweeten supporters by suggesting:
"Fans from everywhere in the world would gain immeasurably from this game-changing potential because it will transform football in their countries."
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