Gianni Infantino must resign from his position as FIFA president “no ifs or buts,” according to Hans-Joachim Watzke, a vice-president of the German Football Association (DFB). Watzke made the declaration on Thursday evening while speaking at an artificial intelligence festival in Berlin, marking a sharp public break with the Swiss football chief.
The DFB is among the few national federations that declined to sign a letter of support for Infantino’s re-election, which is scheduled to take place in six months. Watzke cited three specific controversies as reasons for his demand for Infantino’s departure, beginning with the creation of the FIFA Peace Prize.
The prize was launched by Infantino and awarded to US President Donald Trump in December 2025 during the draw for the 2026 World Cup. Watzke criticized the unilateral nature of the award, stating, “He created this prize himself, and he decided on it himself.” He added, “You can’t just invent something on your own and then announce it, it’s madness.”
The second point of contention was the handling of the red card issued to American forward Folarin Balogun during the World Cup hosted in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. Although Balogun was sent off in the last 32, his automatic one-match suspension was lifted following a phone call from Trump to Infantino. Watzke described the incident as “madness,” arguing that a head of state should not be able to overturn a disciplinary decision by calling the FIFA president.
The third issue highlighted by Watzke was a project unveiled on July 28 to create a commercial company open to private investors, which was dropped just four days later. The proposal became a focal point for opposition against Infantino’s leadership. “It’s completely insane,” Watzke said, noting that neither FIFA’s vice-presidents nor its Council were informed of the plan.
Support for Watzke’s stance came from DFB president Bernd Neuendorf, who told RTL/ntv television earlier in the week that the “relationship of trust” with Infantino had been “completely shattered.” Neuendorf emphasized that it is important for the “Infantino system” to come to an end. Currently, Infantino remains the sole candidate for the FIFA presidency in the election scheduled for March 18, 2027, with the deadline for submitting candidacies set for November 18.
<small>Source: Vanguard News — read the original story there.</small>
