Top FIFA journalist Tim Röhn of German publication Die Welt is reporting that current FIFA president Gianni Infantino could be in hot water not four months into office.
The report states that Infantino could face a suspension or ban after trying to delete recorded minutes from the FIFA Council meeting in Mexico City on May 23. Despite Infantino’s failure to actually delete the tapes, Röhn reports he could still face punishment.
Exclusive: Secret emails show #FIFA deleted recording of Council meeting. Instruction from #Infantino. He may get banned soon. @welt
— Tim Röhn (@Tim_Roehn) June 2, 2016
The report indicates that, if charged, Infantino could face at minimum a 90-day provisional suspension, or more depending on the findings of a potential internal investigation.
Following the report, FIFA issued an awkward, contradictory statement which said “We are not in a position to indicate if we have or have not begun preliminary investigatory proceedings against an individual. We would however like to point out that there are no formal proceedings going on against Mr. Infantino.”
This report comes just days after accusations that Infantino’s falling out with former ethics committee chair Domenico Scala was due partially to attempts by the president to boost his own salary, which the ethics committee controlled. Infantino reportedly made multiple attempts to remove Scala from office before he eventually resigned in protest.