Premier League chief Masters says Fifa self-destructed over World Cup plan

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has criticised Fifa president Gianni Infantino's World Cup sell-off plan, saying the organisation has "pressed the self-destruct button" by delivering "a self-inflicted wound". Infantino is under increasing pressure over his attempt, later abandoned, to create a new company to manage the commercial and ticketing rights of all Fifa competitions, including the World Cups, with 21% to be sold off to a private investment company. Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) was aborted after widespread criticism from several confederations, led by Uefa, which has threatened a boycott of all Fifa competitions. Masters backed the English Football Association's withdrawal of support for Infantino - and called for a new candidate for the presidency who could unify football. "This is a problem of Fifa's making," Masters told sources. "This is a self-inflicted wound. The organisation has pressed the self-destruct button, and the consequence of that flow now into the solutions to be that need to be found." Masters was speaking in a wide-ranging interview before the start of the new Premier League season, which gets under way on Friday when champions Arsenal host promoted Coventry. In it, Masters also said: The Premier League backs the FA's decision to withdraw support for Infantino and that a "unity candidate" for Fifa president is needed. He was worried about the Folarin Balogun red card situation at the World Cup and how Fifa appears to not have a clear red card review. That he feels the Premier League is entering a new era that will be very hard to predict, and defended the quality of the league. Chelsea's recent punishment for breaching rules relating to payments to agents was not comparable to points deductions for Profitability and Sustainability Rules. That he accepts that the outcome of the case against Manchester City for more than 100 alleged breaches of its financial rules is taking longer than expected. 'Unity candidate' needed after Fifa controversy Last week, Fifa and Infantino were accused of breaking trust "through deception" , in an open letter issued by Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation. The letter, signed by the presidents and general secretaries of the three regional governing bodies, said recent controversy over the FFE proposal was fundamentally about "the integrity of the game, and the integrity of those elected to lead it". Earlier this month, Infantino received the backing of senior executives in a meeting in Morocco. The confederations of Africa, South America and Oceania have also backed Infantino. The English Football Association is one of a number of organisations who have withdrawn their support for Infantino - who is scheduled to stand for a fourth term as president in March - a position backed by the Premier League. "I don't think the Fifa should be ever contemplating selling off a stake in the World Cup," Masters told sources. "They're a not-for-profit organisation. They should really be holding that competition in trust for the future of football. "I think it's a bad idea, and the FA have taken the right position regards to Gianni [Infantino]." At present there is no candidate who has put their name forward to stand against Infantino, before a 18 November deadline. While Masters would not be drawn on specific people, he did express a hope for a "unity candidate" to come forward who could bring together all federations to work together to bring positive change at Fifa. He said: "I think an emerging unity candidate should have on his or her agenda reform of Fifa, and perhaps even reform of the president's role and how it interacts with those things." Balogun World Cup red card suspension 'a big issue' The recent World Cup in North America saw European champions Spain beat Argentina in the final to win the tournament. However, it was a competition not without controversy, with one of the biggest issues surrounding the supension of a red card to USA striker Folarin Balogun. He was shown a straight red for a foul on Bosnia-Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic as the co-hosts won their last-32 tie 2-0. President Donald Trump asked Fifa to review the automatic one-match ban and it was subsequently suspended for a year, allowing him to play in the last-16 game against Belgium. The United States lost that match 4-1. "We worry that about that particular episode, and of course we don't know what happens," added Masters.