The European football community has maintained a hardline stance against FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

According to local reports, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) stated that "nothing has changed," leaving open the possibility of a boycott of major tournaments, including the World Cup.

At the core of the controversy is the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project pushed by President Infantino.

Infantino is reportedly known to have proposed 40 million dollars (approx. 58 billion KRW) to member associations in exchange for supporting a plan to establish this new subsidiary and sell stakes in major tournaments, such as the men's and women's World Cups, to private investors.

In response, the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) issued strong statements of opposition, while UEFA took the extreme measure of threatening a World Cup boycott.

UEFA, which counts 55 European countries as members, holds formidable influence in the global football community.

Currently, 6 out of the top 10 countries in both the men's and women's global football rankings belong to UEFA. Given the high status European nations hold in international football, if European countries were to refuse to participate in the World Cup, FIFA would inevitably suffer a massive blow to the tournament's box office success.

Facing fierce backlash from the global football community, President Infantino eventually waved the white flag and scrapped the plan.

Even as the fallout grew, FIFA held an emergency leadership meeting on Wednesday and acknowledged "mistakes" related to the FFE.

FIFA bowed its head, stating, "There was no intention to make the FIFA Council and member associations feel alienated, and the procedures should have been handled differently."

However, UEFA countered through a statement, saying, "We made it clear in our statement last Saturday that we have lost trust in President Infantino's leadership, and that position remains valid."

UEFA went on to dismiss FIFA's explanation, stating, "Yesterday's announcement that certain individuals employed by President Infantino are siding with him changes nothing."

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)