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Munich: Gianni Infantino must leave the FIFA presidency \u201cno ifs or buts\u201d, according to Hans-Joachim Watzke, one of the vice-presidents of the German Football Association (DFB), as he spoke at a festival dedicated to artificial intelligence in Berlin on Thursday evening.<\/p>\n
The DFB was one of the few federations not to sign a letter of support for Infantino\u2019s re-election as FIFA president in six months\u2019 time.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has to go, no ifs or buts,\u201d declared Hans-Joachim Watzke, who said that three points in particular counted against the Swiss.<\/p>\n
The first was the FIFA Peace Prize, launched by Infantino and awarded in December 2025 to US president Donald Trump, to whom Infantino is close, during the draw for the 2026 World Cup.<\/p>\n
Infantino \u201ccreated this prize himself, and he decided on it himself,\u201d said Watzke.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t just invent something on your own and then announce it, it\u2019s madness,\u201d said Watzke.<\/p>\n
Watzke also condemned the controversial handling of the Folarin Balogun red card during this year\u2019s World Cup which was hosted in USA, Canada and Mexico.<\/p>\n
The American forward was sent off in the last 32 but his automatic one-match suspension was lifted after a phone call from Trump to Infantino.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can\u2019t be that when someone gets sent off, the head of state calls the FIFA president, and, remarkably, the whole thing is immediately overturned. That\u2019s madness,\u201d said Watzke.<\/p>\n
The third issue was the project, unveiled on July 28 and dropped four days later, to create a commercial company that would have been open to private investors and became a focal point of the rebellion against Infantino.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s completely insane,\u201d said Watzke. \u201cNobody knew about it, his vice- presidents in FIFA knew nothing, the Council knew nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
DFB president Bernd Neuendorf said earlier in the week in an interview with RTL\/ntv television that it was also time for Infantino to depart.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe relationship of trust with Gianni Infantino, under this FIFA leadership, has of course been completely shattered,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important that this Infantino system comes to an end.\u201d<\/p>\n
For now, Infantino is the only candidate for the FIFA presidency in the election scheduled for March 18, 2027, with candidacies open until November 18.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n