Cayman magistrate investigated FIFA chief Infantino in 2016

A Cayman magistrate investigated FIFA president Gianni Infantino in 2016 over alleged ethics breaches tied to private jet trips, according to a report first published in the UK’s The Telegraph. Vanessa Allard, then a member of FIFA’s Ethics Committee, led the probe just four months after Infantino’s appointment. The allegations included accepting flights from Vladimir Putin’s Russian government and the Emir of Qatar, and turning an invitation to meet Pope Francis into a private trip for his elderly mother. Allard’s report cleared Infantino after several weeks of work, and it was reviewed by another FIFA adjudicatory chamber without challenge. The disclosure arrives as UEFA prepares a criminal legal action in Switzerland over a now-scrapped plan to sell a 20% World Cup stake to private investors.