FIFA President Gianni Infantino has 'strongly' denied claims that UEFA made a severance payment to a female employee who was allegedly in a relationship with him during his tenure as the organization's general secretary. A spokesman for Infantino told the Daily Telegraph that the allegations are 'categorically untrue' and that 'no employee at UEFA and FIFA has ever raised a complaint regarding Mr Infantino’s behaviour because there never was an incident where he was involved.'

However, UEFA issued a statement confirming that 'a departure payment was made to the individual in question,' along with fees for an MBA course, which it said was 'in line' with regulations. The Daily Telegraph reported that the woman received a six-figure sum and allegedly had an affair with the married Infantino during his time at European football's governing body.

The allegations come as the 56-year-old Italian-Swiss lawyer faces a career-threatening backlash over his aborted plans to sell off stakes in FIFA competitions to private investors. UEFA, where Infantino served as general-secretary from 2009 to 2016, is now in open conflict with FIFA and has expressed no confidence in Infantino. UEFA repeated its threat of boycotting the World Cups, and the Norwegian Football Federation called for Infantino to resign immediately.

However, the football associations of Mexico and Argentina have thrown their support behind Infantino, following the Confederation of African Football's unanimous backing of his leadership. South America's CONMEBOL, meanwhile, expressed concerns over 'repeated unilateral actions taken without resorting to dialogue.'

Infantino, who spent the past week among friends in Morocco, co-host of the 2030 World Cup, will almost certainly try to continue his campaign for a fourth and final term in Rabat next March. He is currently the only candidate, with the nomination deadline set for November 18.

Source: www.aljazeera.com