FIFA legal head leaves as Infantino faces intense presidential reelection campaign

GENEVA (AP) — FIFA’s top lawyer left the soccer body on Friday after eight years working for its president Gianni Infantino and a men’s World Cup in North America which drew intense scrutiny on disciplinary rulings.

“Emilio García Silvero has expressed his wish to embark on a new chapter in his career and return to Spain after 15 years of working abroad in the service of international football,” FIFA said in a statement.

García’s exit comes as FIFA prepares for its first contested presidential election since 2016 and with Infantino likely facing an invitation to the U.S. Congress having already been targeted in July by Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.

As head of FIFA’s legal and compliance unit, García oversaw tournament disciplinary cases, transfer market rules and contractual disputes worldwide, and steered moving the soccer body’s lawyers from Zurich to Miami in 2023.

García also introduced greater transparency in FIFA legal work with more case documents and rulings published, including lists of which clubs are sanctioned from the global transfer market.

“Working at FIFA for more than eight years has been a dream,” García posted on social media, adding “It’s time for my family and me to return home. An exciting new chapter begins in Madrid.”

García previously worked with Infantino when both were at European soccer body UEFA and followed him to Zurich two years after the FIFA president was first elected in 2016.

Concerns about Infantino influence on World Cup cases

Infantino’s leadership of FIFA has come under intense scrutiny since July, when his secretive plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors including Josh Kushner was revealed in media reports.

A global backlash, including by senior FIFA executives, saw Infantino drop the project within days. The New York Times later reported García voted with Infantino in a tight vote of senior management to proceed with the divisive plan.

UEFA has since driven efforts to oust Infantino either before or at the FIFA presidential election in March, and has raised concerns he interfered in disciplinary cases that affected World Cup games on the field.

“Could the FIFA President also confirm that he did not intervene, directly or through any member of FIFA’s administration acting on his behalf, in this or any of the disciplinary proceedings referred to above to influence or secure a particular decision?” UEFA wrote to Infantino last month among 42 questions it wanted answered.

At the World Cup, FIFA allowed Folarin Balogun to continue playing despite a red card in a previous game after U.S. President Donald Trump lobbied Infantino not to enforce a mandatory one-game ban on the United States forward.

Candidates to oppose Infantino have a Nov. 18 deadline to apply, and the first election challenger emerged on Thursday. Veteran FIFA council member Kohzo Tashima cited “unacceptable” political influence at the World Cup.

“I felt rather embarrassed,” Tashima, a former Japan midfielder said in a television interview, adding “We saw things apparently getting manipulated inside the pitch, which should not be tolerated.”

Last month it emerged FIFA knew before World Cup qualifying playoffs in March that Congo goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi was ineligible when he played in four previous qualifying games. Congo did not default those games, as FIFA had enforced in similar cases, and Burkina Faso and Nigeria were denied the chance to advance instead.

Ronaldo probation ruling raised a red flag

Ahead of the World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo was given a surprising ruling by FIFA to avoid being banned for at least one game at the tournament. Instead, the Portugal superstar was given a probationary sentence for his red-card offense in a qualifying game.

FIFA secretary-general Mattias Grafström thanked García for his service in the FIFA statement.

“His efforts have left the game in a better place, and we wish him every success in his next chapter,” Grafström said.

García also sits on the management board of the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, which each year handles hundreds of appeals against FIFA rulings in contractual dispute cases involving clubs, players and coaches.

FIFA said its Zurich-based head of soccer regulations, Jan Kleiner, will take interim charge of the legal and compliance departments in Miami.

___

See AP’s full soccer coverage here