LONDON (AP) FIFA has issued a statement defending its president, Gianni Infantino, against what it calls a concerted and ongoing effort to undermine his leadership of the organization.The statement was released Saturday, a day after a report by British newspaper The Daily Telegraph raising questions about an exit package paid by UEFA to a female staffer who worked with Infantino when he was general secretary of European soccers governing body.UEFA confirmed that a departure payment was made to the employee and said it was in line with regulations at the time.Infantino worked at UEFA for 16 years before being elected FIFA president.In the statement Saturday, FIFA accused Infantinos critics of trying to weaken his authority and remove him from office without due process.It is increasingly evident that there is a concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine FIFA and its president, the FIFA statement said. Those who do not have the support of FIFAs member associations should not seek to achieve through allegation, insinuation or misinformation what they cannot achieve through FIFAs established democratic processes.It said some reporting has included unsubstantiated assertions and demonstrably false claims which shouldn't be presented as fact.Change inevitably challenges established interests, but disagreement with that change cannot justify efforts to undermine the democratic mandate of FIFAs president or the institution he was elected to lead.Infantino faced intense backlash after details of his plan to sell World Cup profits to private equity were published. UEFA and two other continental confederations North Americas CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation rejected the plan.He did receive backing from FIFAs management board last Wednesday following a meeting in Morocco, and he apologized over the process. UEFAs threat to have its 55 member countries boycott FIFA competitions until the plan was scrapped remained, with UEFA saying Thursday that the announcement changes nothing.While confirming the exit payment was in line with the regulations that existed for departing staff at the time, UEFA said the rules had been tightened since 2016 and currently reflect those found in a modern, high-profile organization.___AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer