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🇩🇰 Denmark /Sports

Danish FA asks to meet EU sports commissioner over FIFA case

From Berlingske · () Danish

Translated from Danish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News From a news agency Ongoing story
  • Danish Football Union chairman Jesper Møller has requested a meeting with EU Sports Commissioner Glenn Micallef to discuss FIFA and the governance of football.
  • Møller and his Swedish and Finnish counterparts called for equal application of FIFA rules and transparent, independent decision-making.
  • The Nordic federations want cooperation with the EU to prevent football’s commercial interests from overriding the sport’s principles.

Jesper Møller, chairman of the Danish Football Union, has invited EU Sports Commissioner Glenn Micallef to discuss the situation at FIFA and the future of football governance.

Football cannot demand democratic accountability, transparency and integrity from clubs, leagues and national associations while accepting lower standards at the very top of the international game.

· Jesper Møller, Simon Åström and Ari LahtiThe Nordic football leaders set out their concerns about FIFA governance in their invitation to the EU sports commissioner.

Møller signed the letter with his Swedish and Finnish counterparts, Simon Åström and Ari Lahti. They said football cannot demand democratic accountability, transparency and integrity from clubs, leagues and national associations while accepting lower standards at the top of the international game.

“FIFA’s rules must apply equally to everyone,” the three Nordic football leaders wrote. They also said FIFA’s governing bodies should be able to show that decisions are made independently, transparently and in the interests of football.

FIFA’s rules must apply equally to everyone, and the organization’s governing institutions must be able to document that decisions are made independently, transparently and in football’s interests.

· Jesper Møller, Simon Åström and Ari LahtiThe trio called for equal rules and transparent decision-making.

The invitation comes after FIFA, with president Gianni Infantino as the main figure involved, explored creating a commercial company to sell stakes in the federation’s competitions. Micallef sharply criticized that possibility on X, writing: “The World Cup remains the biggest sporting event in the world, despite FIFA exploring every commercial opening. But enough is enough.”

The World Cup remains the biggest sporting event in the world, despite FIFA exploring every commercial opening. But enough is enough.

· Glenn MicallefThe EU sports commissioner criticized FIFA’s exploration of new commercial opportunities.

He added that football’s relentless commercialization had become destructive and threatened what made the sport the world’s most popular. Møller and his Nordic colleagues said cooperation with the EU was still needed to ensure that “football’s soul is never put up for sale again.” They pointed to the attempted European Super League launch in 2021 as evidence of what European football bodies and policymakers could achieve when they defended the game’s basic principles together.

Football’s soul is never put up for sale again.

· Jesper Møller, Simon Åström and Ari LahtiThe Nordic federations described the outcome they hoped to secure through cooperation with the EU.
About this summary

Originally published by Berlingske in Danish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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