Uefa vice-president says Fifa sacking Gianni Infantino critic sends ‘deeply troubling message’

The dismissal of chief operating officer Kevin Lamour by Fifa sends a "deeply troubling message to all of us seeking change", according to Uefa vice-president Laura McAllister. On Monday evening, world football’s governing body confirmed Lamour’s exit, coming just over two weeks after he told the Associated Press that the Fifa administration was "deceived" by president Gianni Infantino regarding a proposal to sell shares in a World Cup entity to private investors. Lamour’s public statement on 31 July, alongside the resignation of senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro earlier that day, placed Infantino under severe pressure, with Lamour labelling the private investment initiative as "the project of one person". McAllister, a former Wales captain and current Uefa executive committee member who previously worked alongside Lamour when he served as deputy general secretary at the European governing body, has now voiced strong criticism of his sacking. "I know Kevin Lamour to be an honourable and exemplary sports leader who was a trusted colleague of mine when I was first elected to Uefa Ex Co," McAllister said in a statement. "Kevin is not only a deeply principled leader who cares passionately for football, but a brave advocate for the values that should underpin all we do as custodians of our game. "During the shabby events of the past weeks, he showed himself to be a courageous advocate for the most important stakeholders in football. McAllister has hit out at Fifa for sacking Lamour (PA Wire) "Having worked with Kevin, I know that his leadership always operates on principles of respect, independence, transparency and sound governance. "Kevin’s sacking seriously weakens Fifa’s administration, whilst undermining this unique opportunity to shift the culture at Fifa and to reset the organisation on sporting values, not simply commercial and financial ones. Fifa is not the president, it is the whole football family. "As I have said repeatedly, world football needs strong, principled, independent leaders who are prepared to speak up, challenge when necessary, and stand firmly by their values and those of the global game. "Instead, the loss of a leader of Kevin’s calibre sends a deeply troubling message to all of us seeking change." Lamour did not attend the Fifa management board meeting in Morocco on 5 August, where the board announced its "full support" for Infantino. Uefa, alongside Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), accused Infantino of "deception" concerning the private investment strategy in an open letter published last week. The authors of the letter – including confederation presidents Aleksander Ceferin, Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa and Victor Montagliani – wish for Infantino to take the opportunity to resign and vacate his role with dignity, the Press Association understands. A series of Uefa member associations have withdrawn their endorsement for Infantino’s re-election campaign ahead of next year’s Congress, with Israel becoming the latest body to pull its support on Tuesday. Moshe Zuares, president of the Israel FA, wrote that recent developments had caused "an unprecedented crisis of trust", adding: "The divide between the parties appears profound, substantive, and principled, compelling all stakeholders to reconsider the path forward. Gianni Infantino was criticised by Lamour just two weeks ago (PA Wire) "In the circumstances that have arisen, we have no choice but to retract our previous letter of support, in the sincere hope that fruitful dialogue among all parties will eventually restore a shared, proper vision and direction for world football." Infantino’s concept to create a new entity, Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE), to manage commercial and operational arms of its competitions, including the men’s and women’s World Cups, was first reported by The Times and the Financial Times on 28 July. Fifa confirmed details of the scheme later that day, including plans to offload a minority stake in FFE to private financiers. The governing body stated that Thrive Eternal, a business established by Joshua Kushner – brother of United States President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner – would head the investor group. Infantino ultimately withdrew the plan, yet Uefa maintains its threat to boycott Fifa tournaments, originally made while the FFE project was active. The next Fifa event since the men’s World Cup is the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland, starting next month. While Fifa’s 5 August statement backing Infantino included a promise to review the procedures surrounding the FFE proposal, almost two weeks after that announcement, the organisation has not confirmed who will conduct the review.