Aleksander Čeferin

In 2026, the rift between UEFA and FIFA intensified over governance decisions and the FIFA Forward Enterprise project. Čeferin boycotted the World Cup final following several disagreements, after which UEFA initiated discovery proceedings in the United States to obtain evidence for a possible Swiss complaint concerning Infantino's management.

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Directly implicated

During the debate over a possible suspension of Israeli teams, Čeferin publicly expressed reluctance to ban athletes and clubs for government actions, also citing what he considered the limited effectiveness of Russia's exclusion in stopping the war.

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Zvonimir Boban left UEFA, denouncing a statutory amendment he believed could allow Čeferin to remain beyond the normally applicable term limit. Congress adopted the reform; Čeferin subsequently announced that he would not seek another term in 2027.

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The Liverpool–Real Madrid final at the Stade de France was marked by dangerous queues, tear gas, access problems and communications initially placing substantial blame on supporters. UEFA subsequently commissioned an independent review and apologised, particularly to Liverpool supporters who had been unfairly blamed.

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The 2023 final in Istanbul prompted numerous complaints about transport to the stadium, access, water and toilets. Čeferin publicly acknowledged that not everything had been perfect and promised to learn from the difficulties.

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Reported by the press

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UEFA announced plans to allow Russian under-17 teams to return, arguing that children should not be punished for their government's actions. Several European federations refused to play Russia, and UEFA ultimately abandoned the proposal for lack of a viable technical solution.

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Following the narrowly averted disaster in Paris, criticism focused on UEFA security department governance and the appointment, reportedly without a formal recruitment process according to The Guardian, of Željko Pavlica, a long-standing close friend of Čeferin, as safety and security chief.

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Reported by the press

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Directly implicated

Faced with the Super League project launched by twelve major clubs, Čeferin led UEFA's response, threatened clubs and players with sanctions and publicly attacked certain executives, particularly Andrea Agnelli, whom he called a liar following their split.

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Directly implicated