ESPN消息来源披露,国际足球联合会正筹备对现行规定进行修订,旨在避免类似美国前锋弗拉林·巴洛贡在世界杯期间遭遇红牌并被取消比赛资格的争议情形重现。
在周四的这一天,国际足球联合会主席詹尼·因凡蒂诺将担任37位成员组成的国际足联理事会的会议主持人。此次会议的召开,标志着自三十七周前他提出的那项备受争议、隐秘进行的世界杯商业权益出售方案被揭露,并在短短数日之内被暂停之后,理事会举行的第一次会议。
在本次聚会的核心议题中,讨论了一项旨在修订国际足球联合会章程的建议,该建议力求废除未来实施“自动停赛一次”的纪律措施。这一决策曾导致国际足联纪律执行委员会对巴洛贡的禁赛令被暂时搁置,进而激起了广泛的公众不满,指责存在“政治介入”的现象。这一争议的焦点在于美国总统唐纳德·特朗普公开承认,他曾经直接向国际足联主席因凡蒂诺施压,要求重新审视对巴洛贡的停赛处罚。
持续有国际足球联合会成员国对因凡蒂诺与特朗普的紧密联系提出质疑,担忧这可能导致潜在的利益纠葛。尽管对规则的修订可能暂时缓解外界对巴洛贡禁赛解除的疑问,但英足总主席兼国际足联副主席黛比·休伊特等人士仍致力于揭露真相。休伊特在上月致信因凡蒂诺,强烈要求披露与巴洛贡案件有关的全部文件。
因凡蒂诺坚称,纪律委员会做出的决议完全是自主完成的,与他个人并无瓜葛。在即将到来的周四会议中,休伊特和其他董事会成员有望对因凡蒂诺施加更多压力,力求获取更多关于已被撤回的“国际足联前进企业(FFE)”提案的详情。此提案旨在吸纳私人资本,建立一个专注于经营世界杯及其他体育赛事商业权利的独立机构。
在一系列争议的漩涡中,11月18日,国际足联主席竞选者登记报名的截止日期即将到来,而这一重要选举将在四个月后的摩洛哥首都拉巴特拉开帷幕。在要求其退位的强烈呼声中,因凡蒂诺正遭遇其自担任主席以来近11年任期所遭遇的最严峻挑战。
于7月19日,世界杯决赛在纽约周边上演之际,他正行进于一条平坦的道路上,朝着2031年的第四个、也是他的最后一次任期迈进。然而,就在九天之后,一场意外的风波将他的一切计划打得粉碎。一份极为繁复的会议议程中,一项由四个部分构成的议题预计将在苏黎世动物园附近的国际足联总部地下室会议室中掀起一场激烈的争论。
四个待审查的议题涵盖:因凡蒂诺迅速撤销的提议,该提议涉及将赛事永久权益出售给由约书亚·库什纳领导的私人投资者集团、从国际足联的50亿至60亿美元储备金中向211个会员协会分配资金、国际足联的纪律机制,以及其治理准则。针对对本次讨论议程和目标的具体评论请求,国际足联尚未及时给出反馈。
The heart of these four topics revolves around the increasingly autocratic leadership of Gianni Infantino, who has been criticized for his solo decision-making approach. This approach was exemplified by his former Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Makur, who termed the proposed FFE spin-off initiative as "a one-man project." Nevertheless, it remains uncertain whether the majority of the 211 member associations would vote to impeach the president, given that he has secured millions of additional dollars for them from FIFA—a non-profit organization jointly owned and governed by them under Swiss law.
Since 2007, the election for the presidency of FIFA has consistently been scheduled to take place the year following the conclusion of the Men's FIFA World Cup. This scheduling strategy allows the incumbent president to allocate a portion of the World Cup's revenue as a prize fund to member associations—under Sep Blatter's tenure, this sum reached $250,000. As for the FIFA presidential election in 2027, the official voting period was initiated at a convention held in Vancouver this April.
周四的董事会会议中,因凡蒂诺计划提出一项建议,即在2027至2030年的商业周期内,除了已承诺的1000万美元之外,为211个成员协会额外分配每家1500万美元的资助。此建议似乎旨在反驳上个月由欧洲足球协会(UEFA)及其盟友所提出的计划。UEFA方面主张,国际足球联合会(FIFA)完全有实力从其现金储备中一次性向各成员协会支付1000万美元。UEFA之所以支持这一提议,是基于他们认为国际足球联合会无需为了获得FFE子公司(负责管理所有世界杯及俱乐部世界杯的商业权益)20%的永久性股权,而向私人投资者募集高达42亿美元的资金的立场。
Securing the $4.2 billion would suffice to fulfill the commitments announced by Infantino in July, which include granting $20 million to each member association that approves the sale plan by the deadline of mid-September. In August, the UEFA filed a motion with a U.S. court seeking permission to conduct an evidentiary investigation into the FIFA and Kushner's investment firm. UEFA's legal team argues that these $4.2 billion could represent "fraudulent non-market prices peddled by Infantino for personal gain," potentially leading to criminal proceedings against him in Switzerland.
美国法庭应否决国际足联提出的证据搜集要求,同时国际足联对欧洲足联发起的所谓“诽谤活动”予以谴责。在去年12月于华盛顿特区举办的足球世界杯抽签典礼中,因凡蒂诺关于设立“和平奖项”并授予美国总统特朗普的动机与方式,成为挪威足球协会向国际足联道德委员会和治理部门提交的正式指控事项之一。
德国媒体透露,应国际足联理事会成员、德国足球协会主席贝恩德·诺伊恩多夫的提议,相关议题已纳入周四会议的补充日程。
Moreover, the third case revealed by the media last week has sparked controversy: Despite the goalkeeper of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lionel Mpanzu, who is closely associated with FIFA President Gianni Infantino's football association, participating in four qualifying matches without eligibility, the national team faced no disciplinary action.