FIFA's new boss says he's "dismayed" his integrity is being doubted after he was reportedly implicated in the Panama Papers.
 |
| Gianni Infantino became FIFA president in February |
New FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said he is "dismayed" that his "integrity is being doubted" in reports about the Panama Papers.
The leaked documents reportedly show he co-signed off on a contract with two Argentinian businessmen, Hugo and Mariano Jinkis, who have since been accused of bribery.The 2006 deal reportedly happened when Mr Infantino was a legal director at UEFA.
It is alleged the Jinkis' offshore firm Cross Trading bought TV rights for UEFA Champions League football and then immediately sold them on for three times more.
After the corruption claims emerged, Mr Infantino released a statement saying: "I am dismayed and will not accept that my integrity is being doubted by certain areas of the media, especially given that UEFA has already disclosed in detail all facts regarding these contracts.
"From the moment I was made aware of the latest media enquiries on the matter, I immediately contacted UEFA to seek clarity.
"I did this because I am no longer with UEFA, and it is they who exclusively possess all contractual information relating to this query.
"In the meantime, UEFA has announced that it has been conducting a review of its numerous commercial contracts and has answered extensively all media questions related to these specific contracts.
"As I previously stated, I never personally dealt with Cross Trading nor their owners as the tender process was conducted by Team Marketing on behalf of UEFA.
"I would like to state for the record that neither UEFA nor I have ever been contacted by any authorities in relation to these particular contracts.
"Moreover, as media themselves report, there is no indication whatsoever for any wrongdoings from neither UEFA nor myself in this matter."
The Panama Papers, leaked to various media organisations from the database of law firm Mossack Fonseca, detail the secretive offshore tax regime used by the rich and famous.
The claims come just over two months since Mr Infantino won the race to be the permanent replacement for Sepp Blatter, who himself was forced to resign as FIFA boss last year over corruption allegations.
Source Here