UEFA confirms payout to employee as Infantino denies affair claim
What's new: UEFA said the package included MBA fees and was allowed under its pre-2016 staff rules, which it later tightened.
UEFA confirmed that it made a departure payment to a female employee after reports alleged she had been in a relationship with FIFA President Gianni Infantino during his time as UEFA general secretary. Infantino, through a FIFA spokesman cited by the Daily Telegraph, rejected the allegation as false and defamatory. UEFA said the employee also had MBA fees paid and that the package complied with staff regulations in force at the time. Infantino served as UEFA general secretary from 2009 to 2016 before taking over FIFA. The report lands as he faces wider pressure over his failed push to bring private investors into a company that would run FIFA competitions, including the World Cup.