Scottish FA Withdraws Support for Gianni Infantino

The Scottish FA has broken with Gianni Infantino – and this time there is no room for doubt.

Chief executive Ian Maxwell has confirmed that Scotland will not back the Fifa president in his bid for re-election, saying the association has “lost confidence” in his leadership amid the fallout from the controversial Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) project.

Scotland sides firmly with Uefa

Infantino is facing mounting resistance over the now-abandoned plan to set up a new company to run the commercial and ticketing rights for all Fifa competitions – including the World Cups – with 21% of that entity to be sold to a private investment firm.

The proposal triggered uproar. Uefa led the opposition, warning of a possible boycott of Fifa competitions, and the FFE project was ultimately scrapped.

Maxwell made Scotland’s stance clear as he unveiled Belgian coach Sebastian Pocognoli as the new Scotland head coach.

“The position of the SFA has been clear since the 55 Uefa associations met,” he said. “We have aligned ourselves with the Uefa position and 55 nations are stronger than one voice.

“Their statement since then has talked about a lack of confidence in the Fifa leadership and the Scottish FA agree completely with that decision.

The SFA will not be voting for Gianni Infantino come the re-election in early 2027.”

No hiding place over governance row

Questions had been raised over why the Scottish FA had not publicly withdrawn support earlier, given that its president, Mike Mulraney, chairs Fifa’s finance committee. Maxwell dismissed any suggestion that this role had muted Scotland’s response.

The stance now puts Scotland in step with England, Wales and the Republic of Ireland, whose FAs have already confirmed they no longer support Infantino. The Swiss official is expected to seek a fourth term when the presidential vote is held in March.

The political temperature around Zurich rose again last week when Fifa and Infantino were accused of breaking trust “through deception” in an explosive open letter from Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation.

The letter, signed by the presidents and general secretaries of the three confederations, argued that the FFE saga went to the heart of “the integrity of the game, and the integrity of those elected to lead it”. Infantino was not named, but senior sources have told BBC Sport the statement should be read as an invitation for him to step aside and leave with some dignity intact.

Calls for independent scrutiny – and talk of a breakaway

Under pressure, Fifa has pledged to present a report on the FFE project to the next Fifa council meeting, expected in October. That promise has not calmed the major confederations.

They argue that internal scrutiny is not enough, insisting that “proper governance in the face of such a profound lack of judgement” demands an entirely independent third-party review. Uefa has also issued a legal warning, stressing that Fifa must not delete or destroy any documents linked to the abandoned scheme.

Behind the scenes, the stakes are even higher. BBC Sport understands that Uefa, Concacaf and the AFC have held early conversations about possible breakaway competitions if Infantino remains in power. Those talks are said to be preliminary, with no detailed structure yet on the table, but the mere fact they are happening underlines the depth of the rift.

For now, Infantino remains unchallenged. No rival candidate has formally stepped forward ahead of the 18 November deadline.

The question is no longer whether confidence has ebbed away. It is how far the game’s powerbrokers are prepared to go if the man at the top refuses to move.