Arsene Wenger - Arsenal
Football’s governing bodies spend years defending the paperwork that sits behind the pitch. A guilty verdict does not end that argument. It invites the people who leaked the files to speak again.
Presidents and general secretaries say meetings are part of the job. Critics say some meetings change the outcome. The difference is what the public can see.
An election in 2027 already has a date. Candidates have a deadline. Pressure from national associations arrives before either of those.
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Rui Pinto, the Football Leaks founder whose documents fed the Premier League case against Manchester City, has said Fifa president Gianni Infantino “should have no place in the future of the game”.
City were found guilty of serious financial-rule breaches between 2009-10 and 2017-18. They deny wrongdoing and have until Friday 2 October to appeal. Sanctions have not been set.
The Premier League opened its investigation after Football Leaks material appeared via Der Spiegel in 2018, and after a separate Uefa probe. Pinto, 37, wrote on X that Infantino, then Uefa general secretary, already knew of the issues in 2014.
“The infamous Gianni Infantino, then Uefa general secretary, abused his authority, shared confidential documents and, in short, outmanoeuvred the investigatory chamber, doing everything in his power to ensure that both Manchester City and PSG would merely receive a fine, avoiding a deeper investigation that could have led to a Champions League ban,” Pinto wrote.
“All of these details were also revealed through Football Leaks.
“Given his actions as Uefa general secretary and, more recently, as Fifa president, I can only say, in my humble opinion, that Gianni Infantino has become a cancer on football and should have no place in the future of the game.”
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When the claims first surfaced, Uefa said it was within the general secretary’s remit to assist an investigating body. “This may include discussions, meetings, assistance to help find solutions, and other interactions to assist the [investigating body] in its work.”
Infantino said his “job entails having discussions, having conversations, exchanging documents, drafts, ideas, whatever, on many, many, many, many, topics.
“So if then this is being portrayed as something bad, I think there’s not much I can do more than my job in an honest way, in a professional way and trying to defend the interests of football.”
PSG denied the 2018 allegations and said it “has always acted in full compliance with the laws and regulations enacted by sports institutions”. BBC Sport has contacted Fifa about Pinto’s latest statement.
Arsène Wenger had raised the same sponsorship question years earlier. In 2011 he said City’s Etihad deal raised “the real question about the credibility of the financial fair play” and that “if the financial fair play is to have a chance, the sponsorship has to be at the market price.”
City called those remarks “unfounded and regrettable”. In 2012 he said a deal used to get round the rules “makes a mockery of financial fair play”.
In May 2014, as City and PSG awaited Uefa sanctions, he told reporters: “You would think that you accept the rules and you’re in the competition or you don’t accept the rules and you’re not in the competition.”
The Swiss Football Association has withdrawn support for Infantino. “From the SFV’s perspective, various incidents raise fundamental questions regarding leadership, governance, transparency and decision-making processes within Fifa.”
Infantino stands again in March 2027. Rivals have until 18 November to find a candidate. For Arsenal the nearer point is unchanged. Last season’s title was won on the pitch. The commission has established facts. The sanction, and any appeal, still decide what those facts cost the table.