The Football Association of Ireland has withdrawn support for FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, over the botched FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, to sell a stake in the global football body’s competition’s, including the World Cup, to a private investment company.

The FAI, which earlier expressed support prior to the post-World Cup controversy, however, in a new letter to FIFA, withdrew the decision, after a board meeting.

It read, “Following an FAI board meeting, the decision was taken to rescind the letter of support that the Association supplied earlier this year. It has since written to Fifa to explain its reasoning.

“The Association is grateful for the support that Fifa provides to Irish football, but recent events have raised significant concerns regarding governance, transparency and the lack of meaningful consultation.

“Considering the governance challenges that the FAI has had to overcome in recent years, the Association feels a particular obligation to advocate for and uphold best practice.”

In the same vein, the Irish Football Association backed UEFA, who on Monday, in a joint open letter with CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation, accused Mr Infantino of breaking trust “through deception,” failing to acknowledge that the controversial proposal was wrong, a fundamental breach of trust and failure in judgement.

The Northern Ireland’s football body said, “We take our responsibilities as a member association of both UEFA and FIFA seriously. We support the current UEFA position on the matter and will continue to engage constructively on issues relating to football governance.

“We are of course aware of the recent developments and wider concerns within the football community. We are considering these matters carefully and will continue to engage through the appropriate governance structures and channels. At this stage, we have no further comment.”