German Football Association vice-president Hans-Joachim Watzke has called for Gianni Infantino to leave his position as FIFA president, saying there should be no uncertainty over his departure.
Watzke made the remarks on Thursday evening while speaking at an artificial intelligence festival in Berlin, amid growing criticism of Infantino’s leadership ahead of the next FIFA presidential election.
The German Football Association was among the federations that did not sign a letter backing Infantino’s bid for another term as FIFA president.
According to Watzke, three major issues have contributed to his opposition to the Swiss football administrator.
One of them was FIFA’s Peace Prize, which Infantino introduced and awarded to United States President Donald Trump in December 2025 during the draw for the 2026 World Cup.
Watzke questioned the process through which the award was created and presented, arguing that such an initiative should not be introduced and decided solely by the FIFA president.
He also criticised FIFA’s handling of the red card involving United States forward Folarin Balogun during the 2026 World Cup.
Balogun was sent off in the last-32 stage and initially faced an automatic one-match suspension. However, the suspension was later overturned following a phone conversation between Trump and Infantino, according to the report.
Watzke argued that political leaders should not be able to influence disciplinary decisions within football’s governing body.
His third concern was a commercial project announced by FIFA on July 28 but abandoned four days later. The proposed company was expected to allow private investors to participate and subsequently became one of the issues surrounding opposition to Infantino’s leadership.
Watzke said FIFA’s leadership structures were not adequately informed about the proposal before it was announced.
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DFB president Bernd Neuendorf has also questioned whether Infantino should continue as FIFA president.
Speaking to RTL/ntv earlier in the week, Neuendorf said the relationship of trust between the DFB and Infantino’s leadership had been seriously damaged and called for the current system at FIFA to come to an end.
Infantino is currently the only declared candidate for the FIFA presidency ahead of the election scheduled for March 18, 2027. The deadline for submitting candidacies is November 18.