Ali Al-Hussein, president of the Jordanian Football Association, has accused FIFA president Gianni Infantino of extortion in a public post on the social media platform X. The claim comes as European football federations increasingly turn against Infantino following his attempt to sell shares of World Cup commercial rights to investment funds.
Al-Hussein wrote that FIFA is not short of problems, and said he wanted to describe some of them from the perspective of a football federation, specifically Jordan's, which is competing in a World Cup for the first time. He said Jordan is a small country with limited financial resources for its federation and had to overcome enormous obstacles.
Visa and Tax Problems
Al-Hussein said many Jordanian fans did not receive visas to enter the United States even though they had already bought tickets, which he said were sold at outrageous prices. He also said the US government, through the framework that applies to FIFA, imposes taxation on Jordan's participation in the tournament, money he said should go to the players and technical staff.
He said this tax burden did not apply to teams based in Canada or Mexico, but Jordan faces a large tax cost simply because it was based in the United States.
Unpaid Arab Cup Prize Money
Al-Hussein said Jordan has been waiting since last December for prize money owed to its players from the Arab Cup in Qatar, a FIFA competition. He said the money the team is owed for reaching the final has still not been paid, even as FIFA advertises the billions of dollars it holds in reserves.
He said it is now clear the real problem lies with FIFA's leadership, which he said has for months refused to help the federation with these and other issues.
Alleged Pressure to Back Infantino
Al-Hussein said that during the World Cup, he was told orally that if he expressed public support for Gianni Infantino, it would significantly help resolve his federation's problems. He said Jordan is proud of upholding principles of ethics and integrity, had not supported Infantino in the past and would certainly not do so now.
He said the situation could only be seen as extortion, and that Jordan refuses to give in to such practices.
Wenger and FIFA's General Secretary Respond
Arsène Wenger added further pressure on Infantino, stating that he never took part in planning the disputed deal and that the decision to abandon it permanently was absolutely necessary. His public position is seen as another serious blow to Infantino, since Wenger is one of FIFA's most prominent officials.
Wenger's intervention followed an internal message from FIFA secretary general Mathias Grafström to federation staff. Grafström described a sad and condemnable sequence of events surrounding the plan and called on staff to stay focused on FIFA's mission and on serving its 211 member federations. He also assured employees that FIFA's leadership would shield staff from the political fallout of the affair, saying the organization's institutions and mission go beyond any individual or circumstance.
Infantino Rallies Support in Rabat
Gianni Infantino called an emergency meeting with senior FIFA officials in Rabat, Morocco, where he has been staying in recent days, as pressure on him mounts following the backlash over his plan to privatize part of the World Cup's commercial rights.
According to reports, Infantino is trying to keep control of the situation, while close aides have taken on efforts to secure public statements of support from as many as possible of FIFA's 211 national member federations.
