Debbie Hewitt has had enough of waiting. The FA chair and FIFA vice-president has written directly to Gianni Infantino demanding that all documents relating to two of football's biggest recent scandals be placed in front of the FIFA Council — and she wants it done by October 15.
The two issues on the table: the now-scrapped FIFA Forward Enterprise scheme, which would have sold private stakes in World Cup commercial operations, and the decision to suspend Folarin Balogun's one-match ban during this summer's World Cup following a phone call between Infantino and Donald Trump. Both are deeply uncomfortable for FIFA's president. Together, they represent a governance crisis that won't stay quiet.
What Hewitt is actually asking for
In her letter to Infantino and FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom, Hewitt called for "all information, files and documents" relating to both matters to be shared at the October 15 FIFA Council meeting. She also made the pointed observation that FIFA "cannot conduct a review itself of these events" — essentially arguing that any internal investigation would be worthless, and that only an independent inquiry will do.
She expects other Council members to make similar demands. On the agenda: how exactly Trump came to receive the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize in July. That question alone should keep lawyers busy for a while.
The Balogun situation is particularly corrosive. The Monaco striker was sent off against Bosnia & Herzegovina and was due to miss USMNT's round-of-16 tie against Belgium. Then Infantino got on the phone with the U.S. president, the ban was lifted, Balogun played — and the U.S. still lost. The sporting outcome is almost beside the point. What lingers is the process, or the complete absence of one.
Infantino's position is wobbling
The FFE scheme was killed off in July after global backlash, but the damage to Infantino's credibility wasn't. The FA, which had already agreed to back his re-election, withdrew its endorsement after that fiasco. UEFA, Concacaf and the Asian federation have jointly called for his resignation. FIFA says he intends to run for a third four-year term next year anyway.
Whether he survives long enough to get there is the real question. Hewitt's letter doesn't call for his head directly, but demanding an independent investigation into his decisions — plural — is about as pointed as institutional language gets. Any odds on Infantino completing a full third term just got considerably longer.
