Swiss FA withdraws Gianni Infantino's support after Balogun scandal
The Swiss Football Association (SFV) withdrew its support for Gianni Infantino's candidacy for a new term as FIFA‑president on 25 September during a meeting. The decision follows a series of controversial events that the association has recently analyzed and now publicly confirmed.
Red‑card incident and share plan
A direct trigger for the policy shift was the incident surrounding the red card given to the American striker Folarin Balogun in the round of 32 against Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was not followed up. After interference by the American president Donald Trump, the suspension was lifted, allowing Balogun to still play in the round of 16, which the United States lost 1‑4 to Belgium.
In addition, Infantino recently proposed the sale of World Cup shares to private investors, a plan that has sparked broad criticism within the football world. The plan to sell shares of the final tournament was dubbed a ‘share scandal’ by critics. The combination of unclear rule application and concerns about the tournament's integrity has increased pressure on the FIFA leader.
International reactions and election outlook
The support was still publicly confirmed in June 2026, but has now been withdrawn. UEFA was the first continental association to speak out strongly against Infantino, followed by CONCACAF and AFC, all of which expressed their concern about governance and transparency. In an official statement the SFV emphasized that the incidents raise fundamental questions about leadership, administration and decision‑making processes within FIFA.
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“The decision follows a thorough evaluation of the developments of the past months,” said a spokesperson for the SFV. “At the SFV, various incidents raise fundamental questions about leadership, administration, transparency and decision‑making processes within FIFA,” he added. “This particularly concerns the issues of rule clarity and competitive integrity in the Balogun case, as well as institutional integration and accountability in connection with FIFA Forward Enterprise,” the statement said.
Infantino, 56 years old, was born in Switzerland and still lives in Wallis, and has functioned since 2016 as the successor of fellow countryman Sepp Blatter (excluding a brief interim by Issa Hayatou). He remains supported by CAF, OFC and CONMEBOL, and hopes to be re‑elected as FIFA president in March next year in Rabat, Morocco.
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So far no official challenger has emerged, leaving the election battle uncertain. The decision of the Swiss association could influence the dynamics of the vote among the world football associations.