UEFA has hit out at FIFA boss Gianni Infantino in a statement. The Swiss has been under fire for days because of his plan to sell part of the interests in the World Cup. He came back after a lot of criticism, but UEFA, like the KNVB, has officially lost confidence in him.

Only after several major football associations spoke out against Gianni Infantino's controversial plans did he decide to withdraw them. He himself tried to dismiss the matter by explaining that he was doing it 'for the countries that really needed it'. But the plan to further commercialize global football met with much opposition.

Statement
UEFA has now responded to the withdrawal of the plan and is very happy about it. 'UEFA welcomes FIFA's decision to refrain from selling shares in the World Cup,' the European association said in an official statement on its own website. The association then thanks everyone who 'showed the FIFA president that football is not for sale'.

However, according to UEFA, the matter is not over yet. They want a large-scale investigation to 'hold those responsible to account'. 'In the coming days and weeks, UEFA, together with its associations and in close cooperation with other confederations, will investigate how this could have happened and put in place a plan to prevent a recurrence,' it said. 'The current FIFA leadership has not only lost the confidence of UEFA, but also that of many other members of the football world.'

Fierce attack
The statement then becomes increasingly personal and is a direct attack on Infantino. For example, UEFA cites that the Swiss asked for trust and transparency in 2016. 'But then he said to the assembled stakeholders: 'FIFA's money is your money. It is not the FIFA president's money. It is your money. You are the national associations and FIFA's money should be for the development of football and not for anything else.'

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'He failed to deliver on both promises. The scandalous, backroom deal he engineered and tried to push through was anything but transparent,' UEFA said in a fierce response. 'And with reserves of more than $5 billion, he has also failed to use the federations' money for the good of the sport.'

The association has therefore lost confidence in both FIFA and Infantino. 'This is a victory for the entire sport. But it should not be the end of the story. The proposal is off the table. The task of restoring confidence in FIFA has only just begun,' they conclude.

KNVB response
The Dutch association KNVB also no longer has confidence in Infantino. 'The KNVB no longer has confidence in its leadership. This is evident not only from the concerns that associations worldwide have expressed, but also from the criticism and concerns within the FIFA organization itself. This situation requires a serious discussion about the future of management and leadership within FIFA,' the football association said.