\n<\/p>\n
Fifa has strongly criticised what it calls a “concerted and ongoing effort” to “undermine” the organisation and its president Gianni Infantino. <\/b><\/p>\n
The statement follows a Daily Telegraph report, external<\/span><\/a> which claimed Infantino’s alleged lover was given a severance payment by Uefa<\/a> after he had an affair while he was its general secretary.<\/p>\n A Fifa spokesperson told the Telegraph Infantino “strongly denies” the allegations and that they are “categorically untrue”.<\/p>\n Fifa has now itself hit out at “unsubstantiated assertions and demonstrably false claims”, adding that “speculation and insinuation should not be presented as fact”.<\/p>\n Infantino has come under increasing pressure from Uefa and European football associations over his aborted Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal. <\/p>\n FFE would have meant a new company being created to manage commercial and ticketing rights, with 21% sold off to a private investment company.<\/p>\n Uefa has said it has lost confidence in Infantino, while Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) president Lise Klaveness on Friday called on the Swiss-Italian to resign<\/a>.<\/p>\n