Norwegian Football President Calls FIFA Director's Firing Unacceptable

Norwegian Football Federation President Lise Klaveness has sharply criticized FIFA President Gianni Infantino, labeling the recent dismissal of the federation's operational director, Kevin Lamour, as unacceptable. Klaveness described the move as "leadership through fear" in an interview with the Associated Press.

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Now he is thrown out, and then it is expected that we just move on. It is unacceptable. It is leadership through fear.

Klaveness lauded Lamour as the "best football administrator" she has encountered. Lamour had previously voiced public opposition to Infantino's now-scrapped proposal to establish a commercial entity that would have allowed private investors to acquire stakes in FIFA's tournaments. He also stated that FIFA employees felt "misled" by Infantino and characterized the proposal as a "one-man project."

In her appeal to FIFA's governing bodies, Klaveness implored the leadership and administration to refrain from following directives that are not in the best interest of football. She specifically directed this call to FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström, a Swedish national.

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Now we must also urge FIFA's leadership and administration not to obey orders, which you know are not in football's interest.

Klaveness has been a prominent critic of Infantino. Just two weeks prior, she called for Infantino's resignation, citing his actions and a decline in trust. This latest criticism follows Infantino's recent proposal to create a commercial company within FIFA to sell shares valued at over 27 billion kroner, a plan he has since retracted and apologized for. Infantino is seeking re-election in 2027, with no declared opponents thus far.

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We will ask the FIFA president to step down now.