Gianni Infantino must go, says DFB vice-president Hans-Joachim Watzke | OneFootball

Hans-Joachim Watzke, a DFB vice-president and member of UEFA’s executive committee, said Gianni Infantino must leave without hesitation, speaking in Berlin at an artificial intelligence festival on Thursday evening.

In a TV interview with RTL/ntv earlier this week, DFB president Bernd Neuendorf said trust in Infantino’s FIFA leadership was completely broken and argued the Infantino system should end.

Watzke criticised three areas, starting with the FIFA Peace Prize, which he said was created by Infantino and awarded in December 2025 to US president Donald Trump during the 2026 World Cup draw. He described the self-invented award and unilateral decision-making as madness.

He also condemned FIFA’s handling of the Balogun case, after the American player was sent off in the World Cup round of 32 and his automatic one-match ban was lifted following a call from President Trump to Infantino. Watzke said such intervention was unacceptable.

The DFB was among the few associations not to sign a letter backing Infantino’s re-election, which drew support from more than 200 of FIFA’s 211 members. Some major European nations have since withdrawn their support, including France and Italy.

Infantino is currently the only declared candidate for the FIFA presidency on 18 March 2027, with nominations open until 18 November.

Source: L'Équipe

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”