Infantino Told to Go: Burnham Joins Chorus as FIFA Chief Fights for His Job

Gianni Infantino is facing the loudest calls yet to step down as FIFA president, with Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham becoming the most prominent voice outside football to brand him the "wrong man" to lead the organisation.

The criticism has piled up fast. Following reports that UEFA and Concacaf privately confronted Infantino over a plan to partially sell off World Cup commercial rights, the row has spilled into the open. FIFA moved to calm things with a statement insisting "nobody is selling football", but the clarification has done little to quiet critics.

The Guardian's Nick Ames wrote plainly that there "can be no letup" and that Infantino must stand down or be removed, while the New York Times reports his position was openly questioned during meetings with UEFA and Concacaf officials this week. That two of football's most powerful confederations are said to have raised the issue directly with him marks a serious escalation, not just background grumbling.

What happens next is unclear. FIFA's leadership has shown no public sign of budging, and Infantino has weathered plenty of storms before. But the combination of confederation unease over the World Cup sell-off plan, a national newspaper column calling for his removal, and now a senior British politician wading in suggests this is no longer a story FIFA can manage with a press release.

The governing body's defensive line, that the World Cup itself is not for sale, sidesteps the bigger question being asked across the game: whether Infantino still commands the confidence of the people who actually run football. On this evidence, that confidence looks thinner than it has in years.