UEFA Vice-President McAllister Condemns FIFA Executive Lamour's Dismissal

UEFA vice-president Laura McAllister has condemned FIFA's dismissal of former chief operating officer Kevin Lamour, warning that the decision damages efforts to change the world governing body's culture. FIFA confirmed Lamour's departure on Monday evening, BBC Sport reported.

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Lamour's dismissal came a little more than two weeks after he publicly criticized a proposal to sell stakes in FIFA competitions to private investors. In his statement, Lamour said FIFA's administration had been deceived by president Gianni Infantino over the project and characterized the proposal as driven by one person.

FIFA abandoned the investment plan on August 1, one day after Lamour issued his statement. Senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro had resigned earlier on the day of Lamour's intervention, adding pressure on Infantino. Senior FIFA executives later backed the president at a meeting in Morocco that Lamour did not attend, according to BBC Sport.

McAllister, a UEFA executive committee member and former Wales captain, previously worked with Lamour when he was UEFA's deputy general secretary. She described him as a principled sports leader prepared to defend football's stakeholders and said removing him seriously weakened FIFA's administration. She called the message sent by his dismissal deeply troubling for people seeking reform.

The dispute has widened beyond Lamour's departure. UEFA has said it has lost confidence in Infantino and sharply criticized the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal over how it was developed. UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and Concacaf also issued an open letter accusing FIFA and Infantino of breaking trust through deception.

The football associations of England, Wales, the Republic of Ireland and Scotland have withdrawn their support for Infantino and do not intend to vote for his re-election in early 2027. McAllister argued that FIFA should be understood as the broader football community rather than identified with its president, and called for independent leaders willing to challenge decisions. Her intervention places Lamour's dismissal within the continuing governance dispute surrounding the abandoned investment plan.