Aleksander Ceferin re-election not ‘double standards’, says UEFA vice-president

UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin will stand for a fourth term as UEFA president. Pic: Adam Davy/PA Wire.

UEFA vice-president Laura McAllister has denied any suggestion of double standards over the prospect of Aleksander Ceferin serving 15 years at the top of European football.

Former Wales captain McAllister said it would be “crazy” for UEFA to change leadership at a time when it is seeking the removal of FIFA president Gianni Infantino and sweeping reforms of the global governing body following the scandal over a World Cup private investor plan and the Folarin Balogun case.

She welcomed the news that Ceferin had changed his mind and was prepared to serve a fourth term as UEFA president through to 2031.

UEFA statutes were controversially changed in 2024 to allow him to stand again – a move opposed by the Football Association – but at the time the Slovenian said he would not seek re-election in any case.

UEFA’s legal application for disclosure of documents linked to Infantino’s private investor plan referenced moves within FIFA to discount the Swiss’ first term in order for him to stand again in 2027, but McAllister insisted there was no hypocrisy in UEFA’s position.

“I don’t think (double standards) is how it would be characterised because obviously there’s been clarification of our own statutes, and this is completely within statute,” she said.

“It would be crazy to look at changing the leadership of UEFA at a time when there’s such global uncertainty about the future direction of football.

“We’ve raised our voices very loudly in opposition to FIFA and Infantino, and I think it’s really right that we have a core security to be able to manage the process of challenging Infantino and not just his candidature as leader, but also the structure and the governance of FIFA more widely.

Ceferin with FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Pic: Mike Egerton/PA Wire

“We have to have strong leadership at this moment because the alternative is to have more turmoil in European football leadership, which doesn’t serve anybody well at a time when European football is so united in opposition to the leadership of FIFA.” UEFA’s member associations are set to meet again before November 17 as they seek to identify what a media release described as “a respected and unifying figure” to run against Infantino. The deadline for candidacies to be submitted is November 18.

McAllister is confident that person will come forward, adding: “There are enormous numbers of people who fit the bill in terms of the profile that we need.” Ceferin welcomed the backing of the UEFA associations and said: “We have faced extraordinary challenges over the past years, and we have faced them as one team.

“There is still important work ahead, and I have therefore accepted (the associations’) request. My ambition remains the same: to keep European football united, make our game stronger and leave UEFA ready for the next generation.” Meanwhile, Infantino continues to demonstrate what a formidable opponent he will be at next year’s elective FIFA Congress in Rabat.

He attended a Confederation of African Football (CAF) meeting in Cape Verde on Thursday, where CAF president Patrice Motsepe said he had the “unanimous and unconditional” support of all 54 of its member associations.

Infantino also has strong support in South America, the Middle East and even appears to be chipping away at the European bloc, after recent visits to Latvia and Czechia. Azerbaijan opposed an otherwise unanimous list of reforms to FIFA’s governance set out by UEFA on Thursday.

Another early contender to run against Infantino, CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani, also appears to be out of contention after The Guardian reported he had told the associations of North and Central America and the Caribbean he too intended to stand for re-election next year.