Uefa has begun a legal process against the embattled Fifa president but it will still be an uphill struggle to remove him

Anyone who interpreted Uefa’s decision to withdraw a proposed boycott of Fifa competitions, revealed by the Guardian on Wednesday, as a backward step in the attempt to remove Gianni Infantino as Fifa’s president has been quickly disabused of that notion.

In a stunning development that overshadowed one of the biggest days in the European football calendar as national football federation and club executives gathered for the Champions League draw in Monte Carlo, Uefa announced it was preparing to make a legal complaint against Infantino in Switzerland alleging “criminal mismanagement” for his role in the failed World Cup sell-off plan.

• Uefa says claims will be made in Switzerland

• It says claims relate to alleged criminal mismanagement

Uefa is preparing to make a criminal complaint against Gianni Infantino for alleged “criminal mismanagement” in connection with his failed Fifa Forward Enterprise plan and has applied for the release of documents related to its conception.

In an explosive escalation of the war engulfing football’s governing bodies, Uefa has made separate applications in the United States for information, including from Fifa and the investment firm Thrive Capital.

• Uefa has received guarantees after ill-fated Infantino plan

• European sides will go to under-20 Women’s World Cup

Uefa is to drop its threatened boycott of Fifa competitions after receiving concrete guarantees that the global governing body will never attempt a repeat of Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell stakes in the World Cup.

European teams have been cleared for participation in the upcoming Under-20 Women’s World Cup, along with subsequent tournaments, after Fifa provided the binding assurances that no equivalent of its president’s ill-fated scheme will be put on the table.

• Fifa president will face opponent if he seeks re-election

• Ceferin: ‘We stopped another try to steal the sport’

The Uefa president, Aleksander Ceferin, has described Gianni Infantino’s doomed attempt to sell stakes in the World Cup as “even worse than the Super League plan” and warned his embattled Fifa counterpart that he will face an opponent if he runs for re-election next March.

Ceferin has led Uefa’s firm collective stance against the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) scheme, which was shelved amid widespread opposition at the start of August. Uefa are pushing for Infantino to quit, also drawing on support from Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation, and are yet to drop a threat to boycott Fifa competitions while talks are under way with Concacaf to set up a combined Nations League tournament.

• Biennial tournament could launch as early as 2028

• Confederations are seeking to oust Gianni Infantino

Uefa and Concacaf have begun talks about setting up a combined Nations League tournament featuring all 96 European and North and Central American and Caribbean countries, in another direct challenge to Fifa.

The Guardian has learned that having come together to push for Gianni Infantino’s removal in the light of the World Cup sell-off controversy, the two confederations are now working on creating their own biennial tournament, which could launch as early as 2028 after the next European Championship.

Uefa presented some of its crown jewels through European champions PSG but the turmoil engulfing Fifa is still the main topic on the menu

This was an opportune night to show off some of Uefa’s crown jewels. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia knows a thing or two about sitting Fifa tournaments out, albeit through sheer accident of birth, but proved yet again that he will show up whatever the stage. It was some way to kick off a European football season when the Georgian, with a familiar exhibition of assured footwork and rip-roaring finishing, found Marco Bizot’s top corner. Given the past fortnight’s events nobody could turn their noses up at a reminder of why, through the muck and grubbiness that has thrown the sport into turmoil, we are all really here.

Earlier on, the Uefa hierarchy and guests had enjoyed their pre-match lunch inside Hangar 7, a vast exhibition hall next to Salzburg airport that houses an array of cars and craft from Red Bull’s various endeavours. A main course of Wagyu tenderloin stole the scene and, for those craving a dose of local flavour, curd cheese dumplings were served next. But the main topic of conversation on the menu brought a more bitter taste. The fallout from Gianni Infantino’s collapsed Fifa Forward Enterprise scheme will cast its own eclipse over football until an agreeable resolution has been reached.

• Uefa, Concacaf and AFC working together on system

• Fifa has ignored calls for an independent review

Gianni Infantino’s opponents are working together to produce a new framework for running world football to replace what they regard as a system of patronage that Fifa has adopted since he replaced Sepp Blatter as president 10 years ago.

Repeated calls from Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation for an independent review of Fifa’s governance have been ignored by Infantino since his plan to sell off 21% of the World Cup was made public a fortnight ago, and the rebels are now understood to have taken matters into their own hands.

• Confederations write open letter damning Fifa president

• Concacaf president Montagliani seen as top contender

Uefa, the Asian Football Confederation and Concacaf will push for Gianni Infantino to resign after writing an open letter calling for “leadership that serves football, not seeks to command it”.

In a dramatic escalation of the war that has threatened to tear football apart since details emerged of the Fifa president’s failed Football Forward Enterprise (FFE) scheme, the three governing bodies accused Infantino of “trust broken through deception” and condemned his failure to acknowledge that the proposal should not have been unilaterally launched.

• Tebas says Swiss is ‘destroying essence of football’

• Any reform at highest levels must be ‘genuine’

Javier Tebas says Gianni Infantino’s position as Fifa president is untenable, claiming he is “destroying the very essence of football” while calling for reform at the highest levels of the game.

The La Liga president, who is a longstanding and vociferous critic of the current Fifa regime, said “the Infantino era is over” and called for control of the game to be expanded beyond the current “elite”.

• Infantino was Uefa general secretary from 2009 to 2016

• ‘These allegations … are categorically untrue,’ says Fifa

Uefa has confirmed a “departure payment” was made to a female employee who is alleged to have been in a relationship with Gianni Infantino while he was the organisation’s general secretary, allegations Fifa has dismissed as “categorically untrue”.

The Daily Telegraph reported on Friday night that the woman received a six-figure sum following the alleged relationship with Infantino. In a statement, Uefa confirmed a payment was made along with covering the fees for an MBA course, which it said was “in line” with regulations at the time.

• European body says Fifa statement ‘changes nothing’

• Fifpro condemns ‘profound abuse of presidential power’

Uefa has doubled down on its threat to boycott Fifa-run competitions and reiterated its loss of confidence in Gianni Infantino’s presidency.

The latest damning intervention from European football’s governing body came as criticism of Infantino continued to rain in from several angles. The global players’ union, Fifpro, condemned “a profound abuse of presidential power” while the South American confederation, Conmebol, usually a strong Infantino ally, was moved to chastise “repeated unilateral actions taken without resorting to dialogue”.

• European body to commission independent valuation

• Uefa unmoved by Infantino apology for ‘mistake’

Uefa is planning to commission an independent valuation of Fifa’s World Cup sale plans after concerns that Gianni Infantino agreed to sell the tournament’s future profits to a private equity firm at below the market rate.

The European governing body is unmoved by the written apology issued by Infantino to Fifa’s 211 member associations on Tuesday after crisis talks in Morocco. They will continue to push for his removal, with their tactics including further scrutiny of a proposal the president belatedly conceded was “a mistake.”

• Statement reveals Infantino wrote apologies to members

• Infantino sorry for failing to consult on World Cup sell-off

Fifa on Wednesday night confirmed that Gianni Infantino will remain as president after a meeting of its senior executives in Rabat.

In a statement that also revealed Infantino has sent written apologies to the Fifa council and the 211 member associations for failing to consult them over the World Cup sell-off, the world governing body said he retains the full support of his leadership team.

• FA no longer endorses Fifa president for re-election

• Wales and Serbia join Finland in withdrawing backing

European countries began turning their backs on Gianni Infantino as moves intensified across the globe to end his crisis-hit tenure as Fifa president.

The Football Association was the highest-profile of several Uefa member associations to drop its support for Infantino’s proposed re-election next year. It will write to Fifa confirming it no longer endorses Infantino for a fourth term in charge after the intense controversy surrounding his failed plan to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors.

• European nations to withdraw letters of support for Fifa president

• Appetite to ensure Infantino is quickly removed from post

European countries are planning to increase the pressure on Gianni Infantino with a mass withdrawal of letters supporting his re-election as Fifa president.

Infantino’s reign is in severe peril after the collapse of his privately backed scheme to sell off chunks of the World Cup, which was largely scuppered when Uefa member associations threatened to boycott future Fifa competitions. The mood remains febrile and there is a widespread appetite around Europe to ensure that he is quickly removed from his post.

• Council wants to trigger emergency general meeting

• Members demand review of Balogun decision

Gianni Infantino is facing a rebellion from members of the Fifa council who are attempting to force an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) that could develop into a full blown leadership challenge.

The Guardian has learned that moves to call an EGM were already under way before the emergence of Infantino’s abortive plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup, with council members demanding an independent review into the unprecedented decision to lift Folarin Balogun’s suspension during the World Cup, which involved multiple phone calls from Donald Trump.

You’ve got to admire the Fifa president’s chutzpah in trying to flog off football’s greatest prize. If only Uefa wasn’t being so pesky about it all

Imagine a plan so distasteful that even the Americans and a Middle Eastern nepo-royal football boss can’t be doing with it. Such is the status of Fifa president Gianni Infantino’s scheme to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors. More historically, perhaps, the 55 nations that make up Uefa have reacted to this horror show by voting unanimously to boycott Fifa tournaments, including World Cups, if Infantino presses ahead. That would mean Spain and Portugal boycotting their own men’s World Cup next time around, which you’d think – not to call it too soon – would come off as slightly bad vibes.

A testing moment, then, for the haunted cue-ball. Again. Can it really already be time to turn to Infantino once more, even after he appeared in this spot only on Tuesday, after his 15-page Instagram crash-out about his haters? Yes. Yes, I’m afraid it can. Demanding the federations of the world sell off the World Cup to some fund led by Donald Trump’s son-in-law’s brother will regrettably draw attention to you in ways that will prove difficult to control. As indicated, the Fifa president’s plan has contrived to appear vulgar to the North American confederation, Concacaf, as well as the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist

• Cordeiro quits as senior adviser to Fifa president

• Lamour: sell-off plan ‘defies belief and imagination’

The walls started closing in on Gianni Infantino after another dramatic day that saw one of his senior advisers resign and brought a scathing rebuke from Fifa’s own chief operating officer.

Infantino is under huge pressure after his plan to sell chunks of the World Cup to private investors met a tide of opposition from around the globe. European countries have already promised to boycott Fifa competitions if he does not shelve the scheme but Friday’s developments, which led to two key members of his inner circle distancing themselves from him, may prove equally damaging to any prospects of salvaging his presidency.

• Infantino’s role as president under increasing pressure

• 143 of Fifa’s 211 members now stand against scheme

Gianni Infantino’s authority has been dealt a fresh blow after Carlos Cordeiro, one of his senior advisers, resigned with immediate effect in protest at proposals to sell a stake in the World Cup.

In the latest embarrassment for Infantino, who saw European FAs threaten to boycott future Fifa tournaments on Thursday, the former US Soccer chief Cordeiro criticised “a bad deal for football” and pointed out that the global governing body already sits on huge amounts of debt-free reserves.

Emerging from this week with unity over Fifa’s World Cup sell off was quite an acheivement but Europe cannot rest on its laurels

It was a phrase not always heard when Europe’s football associations discuss a pressing issue. “Touchingly unanimous,” was the assessment of a senior Uefa executive within moments of Thursday afternoon’s seismic decision to boycott Fifa tournaments unless Gianni Infantino scraps his private investment plan. United fronts on this scale are vanishingly rare and there is now a narrow window in which to make it count.

Fifa doubled down on its proposal overnight with “clarifications”, which blamed the media for disrupting the “consultation process” of a scheme that had been constructed under cloak and dagger. There was no suggestion that it would shift from its 19 September deadline to in effect ram the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal through. Anyone would be forgiven for asking what the rush was but Uefa and its allies must not allow the next seven weeks to drag.