A report claiming FIFA president Gianni Infantino received an additional $1.76 million in undisclosed payments, on top of his public salary, has been officially retracted, but don’t think for a second the spotlight is off his position. This whole thing kicked off again after the 2026 FIFA World Cup, when Infantino was caught trying to sell off World Cup shares to private equity bigwigs. That move sent fans and executives into a total frenzy, putting his leadership seriously in question and creating some real tension leading up to next spring’s FIFA presidential elections. Now, with this retracted report, it’s just another layer of drama for a guy already under immense pressure.
The Big Numbers, The Bigger Questions
Let’s break down what we DO know. FIFA is on record publishing Infantino’s compensation every year. For the 2025 calendar year, the man pulled in a staggering 4.8 million Swiss Francs, which translates to a gross salary of $5.76 million. That massive sum includes 2.6 million CHF as his base salary and another 2.2 million CHF in bonuses. Pretty sweet gig, right? But then, Martyn Ziegler of The Times dropped a bombshell report that claimed Infantino got even MORE cash. According to the now-retracted report, he supposedly received an extra $1.76 million from FWC2026, the company FIFA set up specifically to run the 2026 FIFA World Cup here in the U.S. this past summer. That money, allegedly, wasn’t publicly disclosed in FIFA’s main annual report, even though it apparently showed up in 2024 U.S. tax filings, specifically IRS form 990 for non-profits. The report even noted that other execs like FIFA General Secretary Matias Graffstrom and CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani also got payments. It was all “on top of his regularly reported compensation,” and that’s where the initial firestorm really started.
Why the Retraction Doesn’t Clear the Air
So, what happened to that $1.76 million claim? The Times officially retracted their report on October 20. Their explanation? They conceded that FIFA’s annual report didn’t disclose this extra income because, get this, Swiss tax law rules don’t count “expense and reimbursement payments” as compensation for non-profit filings. They also admitted that claims about Infantino buying a Miami property were totally false. FIFA, for their part, asserts that these FWC2026 payments weren’t part of his regular salary and therefore didn’t need to be publicly disclosed under Swiss tax law. It was in the U.S. filings, sure, but not required to be shouted from the rooftops. The Times even published an apology to FIFA and Infantino. So, legally, maybe everything is clean. But does it *feel* clean? Infantino has been under the microscope for months, with his very position as FIFA president being called into question. With elections coming up next spring, this kind of back-and-forth about undisclosed payments, even if later explained by tax laws, just keeps the drama boiling. It’s clear that even with retractions and apologies, the intense scrutiny on Gianni Infantino and FIFA isn’t going anywhere. Everyone is watching.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
Leave a Reply