UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin launched a scathing attack on FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Tuesday, invoking Hans Christian Andersen's "The Emperor's New Clothes" to criticize the FIFA chief's failed plan to sell stakes in the governing body's commercial rights to private investors.
Addressing the European Football Clubs General Assembly in Copenhagen, Ceferin said "the emperor is naked" in reference to Infantino's shelved FIFA Forward Enterprise project. He did not mention Infantino by name but made his target clear.
"Almost 200 years ago, he [Andersen] wrote The Emperor's New Clothes," Ceferin said. "We all know the story. An emperor is persuaded that he is wearing magnificent clothes, clothes which he is told only the foolish or unfit cannot see. His court goes along with it until a child simply says aloud what everybody can see. The emperor is naked."
Ceferin criticized the language FIFA had used to defend the abandoned investment proposal. He also took aim at other recent FIFA decisions and controversies, including the awarding of the FIFA Peace Prize to U.S. President Donald Trump and issues surrounding the "Balogun affair" during the summer World Cup, according to sources.
The UEFA chief told club leaders that "it is time to say 'enough'" regarding FIFA's leadership, signaling that change at the organization is necessary. He stated that "football has no need for emperors" and called for growth and innovation in the sport without authoritarian leadership.
Infantino has faced mounting pressure to step down in recent months over the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, which sought private investment in FIFA tournaments. Ceferin has been among the leading figures challenging the FIFA president on this issue and other governance matters.