FIFA says legal applications made by UEFA to access documents related to FIFA’s controversial private investor plan are part of a ‘smear campaign’ against the global governing body.UEFA is applying through the American courts for discovery of evidence and documentation linked to FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a private company which it was envisaged would run the World Cup and other FIFA competitions.FIFA confirmed last month the plan had been to sell a 20 per cent stake in that company to private investors. The plan was withdrawn by FIFA president Gianni Infantino on August 1 amid opposition from UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and CONCACAF, the confederation for countries in North and Central America plus the Caribbean.That withdrawal has not stopped UEFA pursuing Infantino and other FIFA officials, with UEFA saying documents obtained were intended for use in preparing potential criminal proceedings in Switzerland, in filings seen by the Press Association on August 27.The following day, FIFA sought approval to oppose UEFA’s request in the Southern District of Florida, a motion which was granted by the court on the next business day, August 31. FIFA has until September 28 to submit a full opposition to that court.A similar motion to oppose was also filed in the Southern District of New York on Tuesday. Documents from FIFA’s legal team seen by the Press Association describe UEFA’s applications as being ‘little more than press releases in further support of UEFA’s smear campaign against FIFA and its leadership’. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin (left) and FIFA counterpart Gianni Infantino are at loggerheads over the latter’s failed proposals for World Cup private investor plansFIFA’s filing asks the New York court to defer consideration on UEFA’s discovery application until the Florida court has ruled on it, or requests that the court permit FIFA permission to oppose UEFA’s application no later than September 30.The filing said UEFA’s motivation in its opposition to FFE and Infantino was ‘to prevent smaller countries from having the financial strength to compete with the European elite’.It added: ‘If soccer is strengthened in the developing world, global competition increases, which ultimately reduces UEFA’s market power and provides more competition for its flagship tournaments.’By raising funds to allow some of FIFA’s smaller member associations to better develop soccer, FFE would lead to more players from those nations choosing to represent their countries of origin and playing in their home leagues rather than playing abroad.’All of this would erode UEFA’s dominance over other regions of the world.’UEFA’s filing accused Infantino of ‘criminal mismanagement’ in relation to FFE, and said the proposed sale of a stake for £3.1billion ($4.2bn) in the company was ‘a fraudulently off-market price promoted by Infantino for his own benefit’.In a separate statement published last week, UEFA called for an independent external review of the origins of the FFE and said that if Infantino chose to stand for re-election at next year’s FIFA Congress, UEFA would ‘join forces with its partner confederations to ensure that member associations are offered a credible alternative – one committed to integrity, accountability, development and genuine institutional change’.