A resounding political earthquake: Macron breaks his silence and deals a crushing blow to the FIFA president

Emmanuel Macron has entered the fray. In a move that lays bare the deepening crisis around the FIFA president, the French leader held a direct call with Gianni Infantino to voice his outright opposition to the plan to open the World Cup's commercial rights to private sector investors.

French newspaper "L'Équipe" revealed that Macron used the call to reject the controversial reform outright. The plan had already triggered widespread protests within football's governing bodies, and it ultimately forced Infantino to back down.

He didn't stop at Infantino. Macron also reached out to Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe to declare his full support for the stance taken by UEFA and its president Aleksander Ceferin, who fronted the campaign against the project.

A source close to the French government confirmed to the newspaper that "the president of the republic is actively involved in this matter, just as he strongly opposed the European Super League project, which particularly called into question the principles of solidarity and sporting merit".

Direct intervention from a head of state reveals just how deep European alarm runs over attempts to privatise world football. It comes as FIFA faces mounting criticism over the transparency of its decisions and its commercial direction.

The "FIFA Forward Enterprise" project aimed to sell a share of the World Cup's commercial rights to a private investment fund. The deal was expected to generate billions of dollars, but it raised fears of losing control over the biggest football tournament on the planet.

Macron's stance mirrors his earlier opposition to the European Super League in 2021. That breakaway collapsed within days of its launch under enormous public and political pressure, seen by many as a threat to the principles of fairness and competitiveness in European football.

All of this leaves Infantino in a bind. Voices calling for radical reform of FIFA's management are growing louder, along with demands to reconsider the commercial direction he has pursued since taking charge of the international organisation.

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