Platini calls on FIFA president Infantino to resign

The president of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), Gianni Infantino, must resign, since he is breaking the rules while being their guarantor.

That opinion was voiced by the former head of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Michel Platini, whose comment is cited by RMC Sport.

Earlier, Infantino lost UEFA's support over his desire to sell part of the rights to host the World Cup to private investors.

"Economic issues are one thing, but I think Infantino has failed, because he is the guarantor of the rules of the game, and he has not observed them," Platini said. "Advertising breaks [at the World Cup] and a longer halftime interval in the final are not part of the regulations, and the story with the cancellation of the red card [of U.S. national team player Folarin Balogun] is the worst thing there has been. He is the guarantor of the rules, but he does not observe them, so he must go."

In July it became known that Infantino wanted to create a company that would control the organization's main men's and women's competitions. In his opinion, the creation of FIFA Forward Enterprise would increase the profits of FIFA member associations and would contribute to the development of football worldwide. The International Federation of Association Football stated that this scheme could attract $4.2 billion. The initiative was widely criticized and condemned by officials, federations and other organizations. In particular, Infantino's proposal was rejected by UEFA, the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL). Later, support for Infantino was expressed by the Confederation of African Football, the Argentine Football Association and a number of other national federations.

Infantino is 56 years old, he was elected FIFA president in February 2016. After that he was reelected twice unopposed. The next election for the head of FIFA is to take place in Morocco in March 2027.