‘There needs to be change,’ says Ian Maxwell as SFA withdraw support for FIFA president Gianni Infantino

The Scottish Football Association have withdrawn their support for FIFA president Gianni Infantino and will not endorse his re-election.

Speaking as Sebastien Pocognoli was formally unveiled as Scotland’s new head coach, chief executive Ian Maxwell confirmed that the SFA have lost confidence in Infantino.

Infantino has been under major pressure after it was revealed that he was planning to sell off parts of the World Cup to a private investment firm.

He has since abandoned those plans amid a furious backlash, with UEFA at the forefront of the move to block his proposals.

Unlike the other home nations and governing bodies, the SFA had initially declined to make their stance public.

But Maxwell has now confirmed that they will not vote for Infantino to continue as president when the election comes around early next year.

SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell  says they will not vote for Infantino at the next election

SFA president Mike Mulraney spent time with Gianni Infantino at the World Cup finals 

‘UEFA put out their statement and we said we were fully behind their position,’ said Maxwell. ‘That absolutely remains the case.

‘We can’t say we’ve lost confidence in someone and then even consider re-electing them in due course. So we won’t be voting for him when the election comes in early 2027.

‘That’s our position. We will see where it goes from here.

‘It’s really frustrating that the most successful and best-attended World Cup ever has been overshadowed by this.

‘Every Scotland fan who was over there will tell you it was the best time of their lives. And that’s now been overshadowed by what’s happened next.

‘That’s not right, that cannot be where we are as a game.

‘We should be talking about the success of the tournament and the joy it brought to so many people, and the impact that can have across the game all around the world for a long, long time to come.

‘That’s been overshadowed by FIFA, by Gianni Infantino and everything that’s gone on since then. Therefore, there needs to be change.’

Maxwell rejected the suggestion that the SFA’s initial reluctance to break cover was due to the fact that their own president, Mike Mulraney, sits on the FIFA finance committee.

Although Infantino has come under major pressure in recent weeks, it is understood that there are still concerns he could somehow cling on and continue in the post.

UEFA are working on their own plan to put forward a rival candidate but it remains unclear what the future will look like at world football’s governing body.

It is understood that the SFA have long held concerns about Infantino, stemming back to his decision to award US president Donald Trump a peace prize last year.

Infantino’s handling of the red card to USA striker Folarin Balogun, which was later rescinded after he received a phone call from Trump, was also another major blot on his copybook.

Stressing the need for change, Maxwell insisted that the way Infantino’s plans to sell commercial and ticketing stakes in the World Cup were almost forced through without consultation was unacceptable.

‘On one hand, a FIFA president or UEFA president coming to the members with an idea for something is their job,’ he said. ‘But the way that happened was just unacceptable.

‘It can’t leak into the media in the way it did, when it’s that far down the line. There cannot have been no discussion with anybody.

‘From what I understand, it’s not even as though FIFA staff really knew that much about it.

‘There’s been a fundamental breakdown in governance, procedure and protocol. And that needs to change.’