UEFA Funds Used to Pay Off Alleged Infantino Lover, Media Reports

Further allegations have emerged against FIFA President Gianni Infantino concerning his period as UEFA secretary general from 2009 to 2016. International media outlets have obtained documents detailing claims that UEFA secretly paid a substantial sum to a woman allegedly involved in a relationship with Infantino.

According to reports, the payment was made in secrecy and was intended to facilitate the woman's departure from the confederation. The sum is also said to have covered the costs of a master's degree in business administration at a local institution. UEFA has acknowledged that a payment was made to the individual, asserting that it was conducted within the existing regulations at the time.

These new claims follow previous reports and investigations into Infantino's conduct. The article references a six-page letter indicating that UEFA had threatened Infantino with legal action. It also mentions a separate incident where five top officials were reportedly hastily convened to vote on a controversial sales plan.

Infantino, who has been married to Leena Al Ashqar since 2010 and has four children, has had his conduct scrutinized before. The FIFA president has strongly denied the latest accusations, with a FIFA spokesperson stating that he "categorically denies these accusations" and finds any insinuation of misconduct to be "defamatory."

The reports suggest that the woman was promoted to a managerial position during the alleged extramarital relationship. The situation reportedly led to a confrontation with then-UEFA president Michel Platini, resulting in an agreement for her resignation in exchange for compensation. UEFA, under its current president Aleksander Čeferin, was notably the first confederation to reject Infantino's FIFA Forward Enterprise project.