Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt says the Fifa Council is still being denied full transparency over Gianni Infantino’s aborted World Cup sell-off plan.
Infantino apologised to the Council today as it met for the first time since controversy erupted over Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE), a new private company Infantino lined up investors for without telling the governing body’s supposed steering committee.
But Hewitt said she hadn’t changed her view that Infantino may be criminally culpable, in the absence of documentation she insisted she had repeatedly asked for.
“We didn’t get answers to anything that we had specifically requested, for example getting the papers from FFE,” she said.
“I asked the question ‘why not?’ – and we were asked to submit those questions in writing.
“I think the man has to answer those questions and if he doesn’t answer those questions now, he’s not fit to be Fifa president – and that was what was shared in the meeting.
“I’ve repeatedly asked for the papers to be shared. I haven’t received them and still, in spite of the request today, I haven’t received them.”
Hewitt said she wanted transparency over Infantino’s role in FFE, the Folarin Balogun red card furore at this summer’s World Cup and the awarding of the Fifa Peace Prize to Donald Trump.
“The responses to those questions, which I still don’t have answers to, will determine from my personal point of view whether or not Gianni is the right candidate,” she added.
“That will be the point at which we can say that any individual that was involved in FFE can or cannot be trusted. Because until we see what actually happened it’s very difficult to say behaviour needs or not to change.”
If you regret it then share it with us, Hewitt tells Infantino
Infantino has resisted calls from top officials in Europe, North America and Asia to step down over the FFE affair and intends to stand, currently unopposed, for re-election in March.
Fifa has also resisted Uefa’s legal attempts to obtain documentation and records of communications relating to FFE in US courts.
Despite Infantino apologising for sidelining the Fifa Council, she said there had been “no holds barred in terms of what we felt about what had happened”.
She added: “If you regret it that deeply, share it with us.
“Those papers coming to Council are a crucial next part of us feeling comfortable as to what, if any, criminal proceedings need to take place.
“From my position, nothing has shifted. I’ve no new information that makes me feel any differently, other than we do have a president who is apologetic.”