India, Sept. 29 -- FIFA has accused UEFA of conducting a "misinformation campaign" against president Gianni Infantino and attempting to influence the global governing body's forthcoming presidential election. The extraordinary allegation has intensified an already corrosive struggle between two of the most powerful institutions in world football.

The accusation is contained in FIFA's response to legal proceedings in the United States, where UEFA is seeking documents linked to the abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project. According to Reuters, which reviewed the filing, FIFA has urged a federal court in Florida to reject UEFA's attempts to obtain the material, arguing that the requests form part of a wider campaign directed at Infa...