Uefa Confirms Departure Payment to Ex-Employee Amid Infantino Scrutiny

Uefa has confirmed it paid a six-figure “departure payment” and funded an MBA course for a former female employee who is alleged to have had a relationship with Gianni Infantino during his time as the organisation’s general secretary.

The payment, first reported by the Daily Telegraph, was made when Infantino was still rising through European football’s corridors of power, years before he won the Fifa presidency in February 2016. The woman, who has not been named, left Uefa with the payout and the education package signed off under staff rules in place at the time.

In a carefully worded statement, Uefa acknowledged the deal but stressed it complied with its then internal regulations.

“We are aware of the allegations and can confirm a departure payment was made to the individual in question, coupled with the payment of fees for a MBA course at a local business school,” a Uefa spokesperson said. “The payment was in line with the regulations that existed for departing staff at the time.

“Such regulations have been tightened since 2016 and the current staff regulations – which apply to all UEFA employees at whatever level – reflect those found in a modern, high-profile organisation.”

Infantino’s camp has hit back. A spokesman for the now Fifa president told the Telegraph that he “strongly denies these categorically untrue allegations”. The Press Association has also contacted Fifa for comment.

The timing of the revelations is explosive. Infantino is already under intense pressure over his attempt to bring private investors into a new company that would control Fifa’s competitions, including the men’s and women’s World Cups. The proposal, which would have effectively handed a slice of football’s most valuable asset to outside money, has triggered open revolt in parts of the game.

Uefa, backed by two other continental confederations, rejected the plan outright. The European body has gone further than anyone, warning that its 55 member associations could boycott Fifa competitions unless the project is abandoned.

Infantino flew to Morocco this week to face Fifa’s management board. He emerged with the committee’s backing and offered an apology over how the process had been handled, but not over the substance of the idea itself. Uefa’s response was swift and cold: Wednesday’s show of support “changes nothing”, it said on Thursday, keeping the threat of a boycott firmly on the table.

Infantino spent 16 years at Uefa, serving as general secretary from 2009 until his move to Fifa’s top job in 2016. Those years now sit under a harsher spotlight. What was once a technocrat’s steady climb through Nyon has become part of a wider examination of how football’s most powerful figure has operated in every office he has held.

With Uefa hardening its stance on governance and Fifa digging in behind its president, the latest allegations only deepen the fault lines. The question now is how long world football can live with its two dominant institutions locked in open confrontation over the man at the very top.