World Cup
UEFA's complaint puts García Silvero at centre of Infantino's Cup plan
UEFA’s draft complaint accuses FIFA chief Gianni Infantino of pushing a private‑capital deal for the Mundial, and names Spanish legal chief Emilio García Silvero as a pivotal figure in the internal approval. The allegation centres on a vote that cleared the project just before the tournament’s final.
Legal duality of García Silvero
Emilio García Silvero, the Spanish senior legal officer of FIFA, sat on the three‑person cúpula that approved the FIFA Forward Enterprise project. At the same time he headed the Legal and Compliance department tasked with policing FIFA’s statutes and governance rules. This overlap placed him in a position where he both evaluated the proposal and voted on its adoption. Silvero’s signature was decisive in the three‑to‑two vote.
Commercial blueprint and valuation
The plan envisaged creating a commercial subsidiary that would sell roughly twenty per cent of the Mundial’s commercial rights to external investors for about $4.2 billion. The overall valuation was put at approximately $20 billion and covered the men’s and women’s World Cups as well as the Club World Cups. Thrive Eternal, a vehicle linked to Thrive Capital and led by Joshua Kushner, was slated to lead the investor group. UEFA questions why the valuation was set without an open auction or independent price opinion. UEFA describes the transaction as a Capital‑raising move that would inject private money into the Mundial’s commercial engine.
UEFA readies criminal complaint against FIFA chief Infantino
UEFA’s investigative thrust
UEFA filed a request with the Southern District Court in New York on 27 August, seeking communications between Thrive, Joshua Kushner, Infantino, adviser Greg Maffei and other FIFA officials. The federation also wants the investor presentation, valuation models, financial projections, letters of intent and draft contracts. In parallel, UEFA is considering criminal action under article 158 of the Swiss Penal Code for alleged breach of fiduciary duty. The draft notes that Gianni Infantino was reportedly eyeing a personal role in the new commercial entity with a salary of around $30 million a year, a detail that the complaint says was hidden from the FIFA Council.
The pending complaint has not yet been filed, but UEFA says it will interrogate Joshua Kushner and a Thrive representative if the evidence justifies it. García Silvero’s involvement remains the focal point, with the draft asking whether his legal advice was a genuine safeguard or a conduit for the deal. As the case unfolds, the Spanish official’s dual mandate could determine whether the Mundial’s commercial future stays in private hands or returns to full FIFA control. The document refers to the Spanish official as “ESPAÑOL”, underscoring his nationality in the controversy.