LONDON (AP) — Gianni Infantino can remain FIFA president and should not be forced from power while under criminal investigation, world football’s governing body told The Associated Press on Saturday.
A Swiss special prosecutor opened a criminal case into Infantino’s conduct on Thursday over his meetings with the country’s attorney general who has been leading a sprawling investigation into football corruption.
“There is nothing preventing the president from performing his duties,” FIFA said in a statement to the AP. “He will continue to fully assume his functions within FIFA.”
The FIFA ethics committee faced calls to suspend Infantino from his predecessor, Sepp Blatter, who was toppled in disgrace in 2015 and banned from world football until 2021.