GENEVA (AP) 鈥� FIFA鈥檚 who said with his World Cup sell-off plan was unacceptable, Norway soccer president Lise Klaveness said on Tuesday while urging other leaders at the governing body to resist potentially damaging orders.
The firing of FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour late Monday came 17 days after his statement to the Associated Press criticizing that helped to .
鈥淣ow he is thrown out and we are supposed to move on. It鈥檚 unacceptable, it鈥檚 management by fear,鈥� Klaveness told the AP in a telephone interview, describing Lamour as 鈥渢he best football administrator I have ever met.鈥�
鈥淣ow we also have to call upon FIFA leadership and the administration to not submit to orders you know are not in the interests of football,鈥� Klaveness added, especially targeting FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstr枚m.
She is a former Norway international player, a judge in Oslo and an elected executive committee member at European soccer body UEFA who has built on her country鈥檚 long-held reputation as a in soccer.
Lamour was a long-time colleague of Infantino, first as senior officials at UEFA from 2007-15, on his campaign team to be elected FIFA president in 2016, then from UEFA to oversee much of FIFA鈥檚 operations in Zurich.
Infantino in crisis
With a reputation among the most trusted executives in the often murky world of global soccer politics, Lamour鈥檚 pointed criticisms of Infantino鈥檚 leadership intensified a crisis for the FIFA president.
A backlash by UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and north American soccer body CONCACAF was provoked by a secretive plan to sell future World Cup profits to investors led by Joshua Kushner.
A $4.2 billion investment to take a 20% stake in a FIFA commercial spin-off was to fund offers of $20 million to each of its 211 national member federations. They already effectively own the non-profit soccer body, which has multibillion dollar reserves, and would have had a mid-September deadline to accept.
Lamour鈥檚 statement on July 31 spoke of FIFA staff being 鈥渄eceived鈥� by Infantino鈥檚 lack of openness over the now-failed sale and how they 鈥渄eserve better than contempt and intimidation.鈥�
The French executive called on soccer leaders worldwide “to make the right decisions鈥� and signed off: 鈥淚f that means I lose my job, then so be it. I will understand and respect that decision. At least I鈥檒l sleep well tonight.鈥�
Fired, not resigned
鈥淭his is a firing situation, it鈥檚 not a resignation,鈥� Klaveness said of Lamour鈥檚 exit, suggesting it was done by Grafstr枚m 鈥渙bviously being pressured by the president.鈥�
In a statement, FIFA said it 鈥渢hanks Kevin for his two years of service and wishes him the best of luck for the future.鈥�
鈥淗is statement was necessary to kill the project,鈥� Klaveness said of Lamour鈥檚 intervention. 鈥淗e said something that was obvious, that was very important that someone within the staff told us the story so that we knew it was not FIFA, as such, but one person.鈥�
Infantino called a meeting with senior management minus Lamour in Rabat, Morocco. After that Aug. 5 meeting, a and said those managers who attended 鈥渞eaffirmed their full support鈥� of Infantino鈥檚 presidency.
鈥淲e all got reports in Morocco, we know it鈥檚 a management of fear,鈥� Klaveness said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not in football鈥檚 best interests.鈥�
Until the uproar over Infantino’s 鈥淔IFA Forward Enterprise鈥� proposal, he seemed sure to be reelected unopposed next year in Morocco. The deadline is Nov. 18 for challengers to enter the contest.
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