Swiss criminal law scholar Mark Pieth has urged European football associations to challenge FIFA president Gianni Infantino's leadership, arguing that member federations hold the institutional power to remove him. In an interview with the Tagesspiegel newspaper, Pieth said FIFA's structure as a registered association means any member can vote to dismiss the president or bring legal action.
Pieth, who previously chaired FIFA's governance reform committee, contended that Infantino has refined the power-concentrating model established by his predecessor Sepp Blatter, placing even greater emphasis on money and authority. He dismissed FIFA's ethics committee as existing only on paper, with no genuine independence or oversight.
The most viable path to change, Pieth argued, runs through UEFA. He noted that Europe is football's most powerful continent and suggested UEFA could threaten to break away and stage its own major tournament if reforms are not pursued.