Ceferin: Infantino support conspiracy is a lie

It had been reported the FIFA ruler was backing the Slovenian in the run up to the UEFA election despite it being against the rules, but the new chief dismissed such talk as a lie

New UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin labelled claims that his bid for candidacy was officially supported by FIFA chief Gianni Infantino as “media imagination” and a “lie”.

Ceferin, the head of the Slovenian Football Association, was initially considered an outsider to replace disgraced former president Michel Platini but quickly emerged as favourite.

The 48-year-old defeated Michael van Praag convincingly in Wednesday’s ballot, earning 42 votes to the Dutchman’s 13 from the 55 UEFA members.

A report from Norwegian website Josimar before the vote, which took place at a UEFA Congress in Athens, claimed FIFA president Infantino – former general secretary of Europe’s governing body – was supporting Ceferin’s bid, contrary to FIFA rules.

It also alleged that Ceferin had gained support from Scandinavian associations by promising to let them host the European Championship in either 2024 or 2028.

Van Praag responded to the publication on Twitter earlier this month by writing: “If it is true, then we are back to the old-school way of doing business in the football world. That is exactly what I want to change. We need an honest football leader. No power hungry politician. Someone you can trust with football.”

But Ceferin dismissed reports he received official support from Infantino, telling a news conference: “I have known Gianni Infantino since I became president of the Slovenian Football Association in 2011.

“He was a good general secretary of UEFA, everything else concerning the elections that were happening today was media imagination and some other people’s imagination.

“If you want to ask me did he support me, I hope so but I don’t know anything about it. If a guy who was general secretary thought I was best for the position then it’s probably because he knows the organisation.

“But all things about official support are a simple lie.”

Ceferin also stated his belief that the overwhelming support he gained from across Europe was born from a desire for change.