October 26, (THEWILL) – The Swiss Office of the Attorney General has closed its investigation into FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, over alleged secret meetings with Swiss Attorney General, Michael Lauber, in 2020. Prosecutors stated on Thursday, that their probe had invalidated any suspicions against Infantino and found no evidence of wrongdoing.
Infantino welcomed the news, calling it a “full and clear victory” for himself and FIFA. He claimed the allegations were an attempt to damage his reputation by “envious and corrupt people.” Infantino maintained he always acted lawfully to defend the interests of FIFA and football.
As THEWILL previously reported, the criminal proceedings were opened last July over a supposedly covert meeting between Infantino and Lauber. However, prosecutors ultimately determined there was no proof Infantino had improperly influenced the Attorney General’s office.
FIFA also released a statement saying the closure of the case confirms Infantino acted properly in his dealings with Swiss authorities. The organisation stated the “new FIFA is today a clean, well run and robust organisation” that operates ethically.
Special prosecutor Stefan Keller had been appointed in 2020 to review complaints against Infantino and Lauber but was removed for alleged bias. Federal prosecutors then took over the case and decided this week to dismiss proceedings against Infantino definitively. FIFA said the obvious outcome still took an unnecessarily long time to reach.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
