Blog Post | 115 KY. L. J. ONLINE | November 10, 2026
Extra Time for Evidence: §1782 Discovery and FIFA’s Latest Scandal
By: Gregory A. Murphy III, Staff Editor, Vol. 115
Amidst a record-breaking fifteen billion dollar World Cup hosted in the United States’s backyard, one might have missed the scandal that lies beneath the lucrative profits.[1] FIFA’s (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) President, Gianni Infantino, has recently been accused of fraud in connection with a shockingly low sale of the World Cup’s media rights at a price far below the independent valuation of thirty billion.[2] FIFA is a registered non-profit organization, but Infantino attempted to create a new subsidiary that handled all profitable endeavors (which would have been known as FIFA Forward Enterprises, or FFE), and further intended on selling a twenty percent minority stake in the subsidiary for $4.2 billion.[3] The leading buyer was Thrive, an American equity company run by Los Angeles Lakers future co-owner, Josh Kushner.[4] Another fraudulent aspect of the sale, aside from the steep discount, was that Infantino looked to retain a “permanent stake” in FFE, providing Infantino with unchecked financial freedom.[5]
The idea has since been shelved by FIFA, but the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) plans to acquire evidence to engage in a criminal proceeding in Switzerland pursuant to Article 158 of the Swiss Criminal Code.[6] Article 158, translated, is titled “Criminal Mismanagement,” and the law holds people within managerial positions responsible for breaching a fiduciary duty to the organization, thus creating substantial financial harm.[7] In order for UEFA to successfully file a criminal claim in Switzerland, they are seeking further evidence from the United States Courts, specifically in Florida, New York, and Colorado.[8] FIFA’s subsidiary, FIFA Americas, owns an office in Florida, Kushner’s enterprise is primarily established in New York, and one of Infantino’s advisers is located in Colorado.[9]
To build their case, UEFA has turned to 28 U.S.C. §1782, which allows foreign litigants to seek evidence from District Courts in the United States.[10] UEFA’s legal team is presented with a problem that §1782 is designed to address: under what legal standard may evidence located in the United States be obtained for use in foreign tribunals?[11] §1782 operates as the bridge towards the acquirement of international evidence, but there are statutory elements and discretionary factors that UEFA must satisfy to procure the evidence they seek so that Infantino can face a criminal proceeding.[12]
The Eleventh Circuit established in Intel Corp. v. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. that there are three statutory elements and two central discretionary factors that weigh the totality of the circumstances regarding whether a United States District Court can authorize discovery for use in the foreign tribunal.[13] The statutory elements are as follows: (1) the individual or entity must reside within the district that which discovery is sought,[14] (2) the evidence must be “for use in a proceeding in a foreign or international tribunal,”[15] and (3) the individual or entity desiring to engage in a foreign proceeding must be considered an “interested person.”[16] Once these elements are met, courts turn their analysis to two discretionary factors: (1) the individual “from whom discovery is sought is a participant in the foreign proceeding,”[17] and (2) the foreign tribunal may take into account the “receptiv[ity]” of a “U.S. federal-court [with respect to] judicial assistance.”[18] Further, the court discerns other considerations which analyze whether a party is attempting to avoid their domiciliary country’s procedures for obtaining evidence,[19] and whether the request itself is “unduly intrusive or burdensome” on the party receiving the subpoena, and thus forwarding the evidence.[20] Upon these seven factors gleaned from both statute and jurisprudence, the United States courts in Florida, New York, and Colorado will then each separately decide whether UEFA has met the evidentiary burden to transfer evidence from each district court.[21] The implied notion, which is worth flagging if one is not aware of the legal landscape, is that each district court will undergo its own analysis and potentially land on different conclusions, which would therefore hinder UEFA’s investigation.[22]
This potential criminal suit is unprecedented for the game of football, and the implications on the sport are numerous. They are difficult to quantify but can be categorized. FIFA has long promoted the slogan “football unites the world,”[23] and UEFA adding legitimacy to its criminal suit starkly delivers a message against the privatization of football, thereby ironically upholding what FIFA has set out to accomplish. Although the majority of fraudulent efforts are credited to Infantino, the recent suit represents underlying tensions that have permeated the sport since its founding. FIFA’s ethical apparatus remains in the spotlight, and with elections coming up on March 18, 2027, the most drastic outcome of this suit could be an overhaul of FIFA leadership, which is feasible, although unlikely because no one has surfaced to challenge Infantino’s incumbency.[24]
The deeper reality is the path that connects UEFA, the people, and FIFA’s efforts to oust Infantino runs first through §1782 and the evidence that it may or may not yield. The aforementioned dispute is more than an evidentiary debate. The underpinning of the potential proceeding is accountability because §1782 has the potential to create a protective evidentiary mechanism for the sport of football. How UEFA proceeds will additionally show whether football’s governing bodies truly answer to anyone, as the legal world watches closely to see if UEFA can hold accountable those in power who would corrupt a game that is ultimately meant for those who step on the field.
[1] Nick Ames & Matt Hughes, FIFA to Announce Record $15bn World Cup Revenue, Smashing Expectations, The Guardian (July 18, 2026, at 18:30 ET), https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jul/18/fifa-record-15bn-world-cup-revenue.
[2] Alex Lawson, UEFA Eyes Criminal Case Over Abandoned World Cup Sale, Law360 (Aug. 27, 2026, at 5:18 ET), https://www.law360.com/sports-and-betting/articles/2518627/uefa-eyes-criminal-case-over-abandoned-world-cup-sale; see Nick Ames & Alexander Abnos, UEFA Preparing to Bring Criminal Claims Against Gianni Infantino over World Cup Sale, The Guardian (Aug. 27, 2026, at 10:06 ET), https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/aug/27/uefa-preparing-to-bring-criminal-claims-against-gianni-infantino-over-world-cup-sale (noting this minority stake of $4.2 billion would have placed the valuation of FIFA’s World Cup Media Rights at just over twenty billion, which is ten billion shy of the “readily supportable” market value.)
[3] Adam Crefton & Dan Sheldon, FIFA Scraps World Cup Private Investment Plans as Infantino Fights for his Future, The Athletic (Aug. 1, 2026), https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7482610/2026/07/31/fifa-world-cup-infantino-sale-u-turn-future.
[4] Id; Lauren Hirsch, What’s the Investment Past of Joshua Kushner, the New Lakers Co-Owner?, The New york times (Aug. 12, 2026), https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/12/business/joshua-kushner-lakers.html.
[5] Lawson, supra note 2; Ames & Abnos, supra note 2; (noting the list aforementioned is not exhaustive, as Infantino is being accused of not hosting an auction to determine the highest bidder along with the absence of independent valuation of the media rights to the World Cup.)
[6] Mark Ogden, UEFA Prepares Criminal Complaint Against FIFA's Infantino over World Cup Sell-Off, ESPN (Aug. 27, 2026, at 10:19 ET), https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/49742098/uefa-prepares-criminal-complaint-fifa-boss-gianni-infantino-world-cup-selloff.
[7] Schweizerisches Strafgesetzbuch [StGB] [Criminal Code], Dec. 21, 1937, SR 311.0, art. 158, para. 1 (Switz.); Michael McCann, Kushner Can Challenge UEFA Demands in Infantino Case, Sportico (Aug. 27, 2026, at 16:24), https://www.sportico.com/law/analysis/2026/joshua-kushner-uefa-subpoena-infantino-criminal-case-1234943144.
[8] Lawson, supra note 2; UEFA Preparing Criminal Complaint Against FIFA's Infantino, Asks U.S. Courts for FIFA Documents, CBS News (Aug. 27, 2026, at 12:55 ET), https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uefa-preparing-criminal-complaint-fifa-gianni-infantino-world-cup/(New York); Adam Rosen, Why are FIFA, UEFA Taking Legal Action in Colorado?, KDVR (Sep. 4, 2026, at 16:59 ET) https://www.wane.com/top-stories/why-are-fifa-uefa-taking-legal-action-in-colorado.
[9] See supra note 8.
[10] See 28 U.S.C. § 1782.
[11] Alejandro Rodriguez Vanzetti, 28 U.S.C. § 1782: Recent Insights from the Eleventh Circuit and the Southern District of Florida, Federal Bar Association (July 21, 2026), https://www.fedbar.org/blog/28-u-s-c-%C2%A7-1782-recent-insights-from-the-eleventh-circuit-and-the-southern-district-of-florida.
[12] See 28 U.S.C. § 1782.
[13] See Intel Corp. v. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., 542 U.S. 241, 246 (2004); See, e.g., Louis Fogel, Klaus J. Reindl, Vidhu B. Joshi, & Alexander R. Mazza, Learning From a Typical Section 1782 Discovery Case, Law360 (Feb. 9, 2026), https://www.fr.com/insights/thought-leadership/articles/learning-from-a-typical-section-1782-discovery-case.
[14] 28 U.S.C. § 1782; Intel Corp., 542 U.S. at 246.
[15] Intel Corp., 542 U.S. at 246.
[16] Id.
[17] Id. at 264.
[18] Id.
[19] Id. at 264–65.
[20] Id. at 265.
[21] See, e.g., Louis Fogel, et. al., Learning From a Typical Section 1782 Discovery Case, Law360 (Feb. 9, 2026), https://www.fr.com/insights/thought-leadership/articles/learning-from-a-typical-section-1782-discovery-case.
[22] See generally id. (providing the general interpretive framework which leads to the conclusion that the analysis becomes case-by-case, lending each district court the discretion necessary to reach various outcomes).
[23] Football Unites the World, FIFA (last visited Sep. 18, 2026 at 19:33 ET) https://inside.fifa.com/campaigns/football-unites-the-world.
[24] President Infantino Will Seek Re-Election in March 2027, FIFA Says, Reuters (Sep. 7, 2026), https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/president-infantino-will-seek-re-election-march-fifa-says-2026-09-06.