FIFA President Gianni Infantino No Longer Facing Criminal Proceedings

Swiss prosecutors have closed three-year criminal proceedings against FIFA president Gianni Infantino, the prosecutors announced on Thursday. Infantino was previously under investigation for suspicions of collusion between Infantino and Switzerland's then-attorney general Michael Lauber, the country's top prosecutor.

"The criminal proceedings are discontinued," a statement from the prosecutors said. "The suspicion of instrumentalization of the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland by FIFA has not been substantiated in the course of the comprehensive investigation. On the contrary, the suspicion was refuted."

Infantino, 53, declared the closings a "full and clear victory for me, for the new FIFA and for justice."

The probe against Infantino was opened in July 2020 to investigate suspicions of secrecy violations, abuse of office and aiding and abetting related to meetings he held with Lauber

The two special prosecutors assigned to the case investigated contacts between Infantino and Lauber. Lauber resigned as Swiss attorney general after a court concluded he covered up a meeting with the FIFA boss and lied to supervisors while his office investigated corruption at the football body.

However, the investigation has now "invalidated the suspicions against Infantino.

"It is now clear that the accusations against me were mere attempts by poor, envious and corrupt people to attack my reputation. If these people have some dignity left, they should at least have the decency and apologize for their actions and the damage caused," Infantino said in a statement. "The investigation fully and clearly confirms that I have always acted in a lawful and correct way, always defending exclusively the interests of FIFA and football."

Infantino was hired by FIFA in 2016 after it became embroiled in corruption scandals, and was tasked with cleaning up the organization.

In 2015, US prosecutors charged several top FIFA executives with corruption following a major inquiry by the FBI. Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and vice-president Michel Platini were later found guilty of ethics breaches for bribery, fraud and money laundering.