‘Enough is Enough’ player meme grows as Silvestre and Petit join legends critical of Infantino, saying ‘change is necessary’
August 25 – Mikael Silvestre and Emmanuel Petit have joined growing former player criticism of FIFA President Gianni Infantino, arguing that ‘change is necessary’ amid the governance crisis engulfing the world governing body.
They have added their names to the group of football legends that have reposted the ‘Enough is Enough’ message and includes Lucy Bronze, Frederic Piquionne, Louis Saha, Olivier Dacourt, David James, Jason Roberts, Luke Wilkshire, Jessica Houara, Sol Campbell and Robert Pires.
The list of former and current players posting the statement is growing daily and has been supported by the French players’ union UNFP as well as world players’ union FIFPRO.
Infantino, almost immediately from his election in 2015, has made a point of surrounding himself, and paying for, former playing legends of the game who have in turn been supportive and given him credibility. He has said that their voices are important and need to be heard.
Now those voices are increasingly turning against him and his leadership of FIFA.
Former Manchester United and France defender Silvestre, a member of FIFA’s Players’ Voice Panel, said on X that ‘Enough is Enough’, backing this up with a hard-hitting interview on TalkSport radio.
He posted: “Change is necessary. Power has blurred the current leadership’s ability to distinguish between its own interests and what is best for football. Recent events have made silence impossible.”
FIFA and Infantino have been mired in a major governance crisis after the football supremo sought to sell off the World Cup in secret plans. The backlash has continued even after he abandoned the FIFA Football Enterprise plan but stopped short of committing to reforms that would keep the ownership of FIFA’s commercial rights within its membership and ring fenced from any new attempt at selling them off.
This has led to a growing pressure for Infantino to resign, in particular from UEFA where most of the players he needs to play his showcase competitions play their club football and earn their wages.
Silvestre, in a statement also shared by Petit, said: “We have watched the game we love drift away from its core values under FIFA’s current leadership.
“For too long we’ve seen major decisions taken without players being consulted or considered, and without any regard for the fans who sustain the sport.”
UEFA ambassador Luis Figo, a key supporter of Infantino in his 2015 electioneering, has separately spoken critically of the Infantino-induced international crisis.
The ‘Enough is Enough’ statement says that players “share the exact same concerns as the millions of fans around the world”.
The European confederation has said it will boycott the World Cup and all FIFA competitions, and issued a statement, jointly with the AFC and Concacaf, saying they had lost confidence in the FIFA leadership.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at [email protected], additional reporting by [email protected]
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