Gianni Infantino's hold on the FIFA presidency continues to weaken as yet another soccer organization has issued a statement condemning the President. The Irish FA has released a statement withdrawing its letter of support for Infantino and outlined its reasons for doing so.
A statement from the FAI on Thursday read: "Following an FAI Board Meeting, the decision was taken to rescind the letter of support that the Association supplied earlier this year. It has since written to Fifa to explain its reasoning.
"The Association is grateful for the support that Fifa provides to Irish football, but recent events have raised significant concerns regarding governance, transparency and the lack of meaningful consultation.
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"Considering the governance challenges that the FAI has had to overcome in recent years, the Association feels a particular obligation to advocate for and uphold best practice."
Last week the Welsh FA became the first of the home nations' governing bodies to pull their support for Infantino, with the English FA subsequently following suit. This comes in the wake of the FIFA President's audacious attempt to sell stakes in the organization's commercial operations to private investors — a move that would directly affect the World Cup, as per The Mirror.
UEFA, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation accused Infantino of breaking trust 'through deception' in an open letter published on Monday. Northern Ireland's IFA acknowledged the "wider concerns" raised within the sport regarding Infantino, but stopped short of withdrawing its backing of Infantino, while aligning itself with UEFA's position.
"We take our responsibilities as a member association of both Uefa and Fifa seriously," said an IFA spokesperson.
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"We support the current Uefa position on the matter and will continue to engage constructively on issues relating to football governance.
"We are of course aware of the recent developments and wider concerns within the football community. We are considering these matters carefully and will continue to engage through the appropriate governance structures and channels.
"At this stage, we have no further comment."
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