Premier League chief Masters accuses Infantino of pressing 'self-destruct button' over World Cup sell-off

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has accused FIFA president Gianni Infantino of pressing the “self-destruct button” over collapsed plans to sell a minority stake in FIFA tournaments to private investors.

“This is a problem of Fifa’s making,” Masters told BBC Sport. “This is a self-inflicted wound. The organisation has pressed the self-destruct button, and the consequences of that flow now into the solutions that need to be found.”

Infantino is fighting to retain his position following a significant backlash against the proposals, which would have seen private investors acquire a share in FIFA competitions including the World Cup. UEFA has emerged as his primary opponent, and the Football Association has withdrawn its backing for the FIFA president.

“I don’t think Fifa should be ever contemplating selling off a stake in the World Cup,” Masters added. “They’re a not-for-profit organisation. They should really be holding that competition in trust for the future of football. I think it’s a bad idea, and the FA have taken the right position regards to Gianni.”

Masters also called for structural reform at FIFA, suggesting that any challenger to Infantino ahead of next year’s presidential election should pursue changes to the organisation itself. “I think an emerging unity candidate should have on his or her agenda reform of Fifa, and perhaps even reform of the president’s role and how it interacts with those things,” he said.

The criticism of Infantino deepened on Tuesday following the departure of Kevin Lamour, FIFA’s chief operating officer, who left his position on Monday. Weeks before his exit, Lamour had publicly stated that FIFA staff had been “deceived” by Infantino’s commercial plans. He also said staff “deserve better than contempt and intimidation” after being kept in the dark about the proposals, and declared he would be able to “sleep well tonight” having spoken out.

Lise Klaveness, head of the Football Association of Norway and a long-standing critic of Infantino’s leadership, told the Associated Press she believed Lamour had been fired. “Now he is thrown out and we are supposed to move on. It’s unacceptable, it’s management by fear,” Klaveness said. “Now we also have to call upon Fifa leadership and the administration to not submit to orders you know are not in the interests of football.”