Gianni Infantino

FIFA president Gianni Infantino deserves to be shown a red card on the evidence of his first 100 days in office, campaigners seeking reform of the world soccer body said this week.

British parliamentarian Damian Collins, a co-founder of the ‘New FIFA Now’ group, said the Swiss had delivered “smoke and mirrors, but not a great deal of substance” since his election in February.

“We already know that FIFA has failed football over the past decades. On the basis of Infantino’s first 100 days, we believe he is heading the same way,” he said.

“Nothing has changed and it never will if (FIFA are) left to their own devices. FIFA is incapable of reforming itself,” he added, repeating calls for an independent FIFA reform commission.

Infantino replaced banned compatriot Sepp Blatter, with FIFA battling to haul itself out of the worst graft scandal in its history.

The Swiss-based body has been embroiled in crisis since last year with 42 people, including former FIFA executive committee members, and entities indicted in the United States.

While Infantino has promised a fresh start, and drawn praise from some quarters, he has not had a smooth ride.

Swiss businessman Domenico Scala quit as head of audit and compliance last month after the FIFA Council was given power to appoint or dismiss members of independent bodies, such as the ethics committee.

Infantino’s proposed pay also made headlines, with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reporting leaked details of FIFA Council meetings that it said showed he had been angered by an offer of two million francs ($2.07m) a year.

New FIFA Now co-founder Bonita Mersiades highlighted campaign promises of more money to confederations and a 40-team World Cup which were “aimed at keeping the ‘family’ happy”.

“It’s business as usual. The deck-chairs on the Titanic may have different stripes, but they’re still deck-chairs on the Titanic,” she said.