FIFA’s Infantino ‘must go, no ifs or buts’, blasts German FA vice president

Hans-Joachim Watzke, one of German football’s vice presidents, adds to list calling for Gianni Infantino’s resignation.Gianni Infantino must leave the FIFA presidency “no ifs or buts”, according to Hans-Joachim Watzke, one of the vice presidents of the German Football Association (DFB), as he spoke at a festival dedicated to Artificial Intelligence in Berlin.The DFB was one of the few federations not to sign a letter of support for Infantino’s re-election as FIFA president in six months’ time.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Spain reveal Nations League squad in Ceuta in support of migration crisislist 2 of 4North Korea anthem played at South’s Bangladesh hockey match at Asian Gameslist 3 of 4Palmer and Alexander-Arnold recalled after England World Cup snublist 4 of 4India star Sooryavanshi urged to be patient by coach Gambhirend of list“He has to go, no ifs or buts,” declared Watzke, who said late on Thursday that three points in particular counted against the Swiss.The first was the FIFA Peace Prize, launched by Infantino and awarded in December 2025 to US President Donald Trump, to whom Infantino is close, during the draw for the 2026 World Cup.Infantino “created this prize himself, and he decided on it himself,” said Watzke.“You can’t just invent something on your own and then announce it, it’s madness,” said Watzke.Watzke also condemned the controversial handling of the Folarin Balogun red card during this year’s World Cup, which was hosted in the US, Canada and Mexico.The American forward was sent off in the last 32 but his automatic one-match suspension was lifted after a phone call from Trump to Infantino.“It can’t be that when someone gets sent off, the head of state calls the FIFA president, and, remarkably, the whole thing is immediately overturned. That’s madness,” said Watzke.The third issue was the project, unveiled on July 28 and dropped four days later, to create a commercial company that would have been open to private investors and became a focal point of the rebellion against Infantino.