FIFA has formally accused European football's governing body, UEFA, of waging a "smear campaign" aimed at forcing its president, Gianni Infantino, out of office.

The world governing body lodged a legal response in the Southern District of New York, directly contesting applications brought by UEFA through American courts. UEFA has been using the US legal system to pursue evidence connected to a controversial privatisation venture proposed by FIFA.

This escalating row strikes right at the top of international football governance. UEFA has signalled it may pursue criminal proceedings against Infantino in Switzerland, where FIFA is headquartered. The European body is actively seeking to remove him from his post, either by forcing his resignation or defeating him at the presidential election scheduled for March.

FIFA's lawyers have hit back sharply in their New York filing, dismissing UEFA's legal manoeuvres as baseless publicity exercises rather than genuine court claims.

The document states: "While these applications are styled as legal pleadings with captions and docket numbers, they are little more than press releases in further support of UEFA's smear campaign against FIFA and its leadership."

Lawyers for FIFA argued that UEFA's application suffers from a "fundamental defect", writing in the submission that "UEFA seeks discovery in aid of a foreign criminal proceeding that does not exist and that UEFA admittedly lacks the authority to initiate."

The court papers also address the privatisation venture itself, with FIFA insisting the plan was "only a proposal" that would have required formal endorsement from both member associations and FIFA's ruling council before proceeding.

Beyond the procedural arguments, FIFA accused UEFA of acting out of direct financial self-interest. The filing claims UEFA's underlying economic motivation was to prevent smaller nations from building the financial strength required to compete with Europe's elite.

According to the filing, securing additional funding for smaller associations through FIFA's Forward Enterprise would allow more players to represent their home countries and play in domestic leagues rather than moving abroad. FIFA argued that strengthening football in the developing world would increase global competition, ultimately reducing UEFA's market power and providing stiffer competition for its flagship tournaments.

What we don't know yet is whether any Swiss authorities will choose to act on UEFA's signals regarding criminal proceedings, or how the New York court will rule on the discovery requests. The filing does not directly detail UEFA's specific criticisms of Infantino, nor does it mention other governing bodies.

With the FIFA presidential election set for March, the tension between world and European football's top administrators is likely to deepen. I'll be following this one — check back for updates.