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New FIFA president Gianni Infantino could be in deep trouble and face a possible suspension or ban, just three months into his term as president of soccer's governing body.
According to an exclusive report from the German publication Welt, leaked internal emails reportedly show that Infantino tried to delete recorded minutes from a FIFA Council meeting held in Mexico City on May 23. Welt reports that although the tapes were not in fact deleted, Infantino's actions will still spur an internal ethics investigation.
Infantino could face a provisional 90-day suspension, though a ban is also possible.
The news comes shortly after reports revealed that FIFA audit panel chairman Dominic Scala had resigned after clashing with Infantino. Scala had been tasked with cleaning up corruption within FIFA, which was also the key tenant on which Infantino ran his successful bid for presidency in late February.
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
One of top reporters on the FIFA story saying Infantino facing possible Ethics investigation: https://t.co/ajFvHgGfGD
- Simon Evans (@sgevans) June 2, 2016FIFA offered the following statement:
We are not in a position to indicate if we have or have not preliminary investigatory proceedings against an individual. We would however like to point out that there are no formal proceedings going on against Mr. Infantino.