Football: FIFA Replies to the UEFA US Court Disclosure Proceedings
By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
It has been reported that FIFA has now replied to the UEFA US Court proceedings, in which documents and other evidence have been requested by UEFA in connection with potential criminal claims in Switzerland relating to the abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal to sell investments in FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, to private investors.
FIFA has requested permission for access to these documents to be deferred or opposed by the end of this month, claiming that:
"UEFA seeks discovery in aid of a foreign criminal proceeding that does not exist and that UEFA admittedly lacks the authority to initiate. Despite that threshold problem, UEFA asks this court to authorise sweeping discovery about the FFE."
FIFA has stated that it has made clear that the creation of FFE was a proposal only, and subject to support from the majority of its member associations, as well as approval by the FIFA Council, and added that:
"Rather than participate in that democratic process, UEFA issued a press release - the beginning of a weeks-long smear campaign against Fifa and its leadership."
FIFA has further claimed that the UEFA requests for disclosure are legally fundamentally defective and deficient.
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