UEFA ramp up pressure on defiant Gianni Infantino and insist they WILL boycott the World Cup if he refuses to quit - after under-fire FIFA president vowed to fight on

UEFA is set to continue its boycott the World Cup until Gianni Infantino is removed from his position, Daily Mail Sport understands.

European football’s governing body today issued a statement reiterating that it had lost confidence in the FIFA president in the wake of his aborted World Cup sell-off.

UEFA previously said that Infantino’s proposal would have to be withdrawn and that it would need assurances that such ‘attempts to disfigure the game this way will never be made again’ before it lifted its self-imposed ban.

However, it is believed that – as things stand - anything less than Infantino’s head would not be enough to ensure the likes of champions Spain, England, France and Germany take part in four years’ time.

An international football insider told Daily Mail Sport: ‘This had to be done. He has to go and this is the only way to force him out.’

On Wednesday night, FIFA announced Infantino had the backing of members of the body’s council after crisis talks in Morocco.

The beleaguered Swiss had summoned officials to his hotel as part of what appears to be, for now, a successful attempt to cling to power.

He had faced a major backlash since plans to sell off stakes in the World Cup emerged. But amid widespread outrage and opposition, those plans were dumped. Following the hotel summit FIFA issued a statement saying execs had given their 'full support' to Infantino while acknowledging 'mistakes' in the dropped plan.

UEFA repeated that it has lost confidence in FIFA president Gianni Infantino and reiterated its threat to boycott the World Cup

FIFA said they have now apologised in a letter to the various football associations and that a ‘review’ will be carried out.

Along with UEFA's continued anger, a withering statement from FIFPRO, the global union for professional footballers, hit out at Infantino and the FIFA Forward Enterprise scheme.

It read: 'FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) is gone. The abuse of power that produced it is not. Governance reforms, not a cover-up, are urgently needed.

'The withdrawal of FFE was inevitable. But withdrawing the proposal does not erase what it revealed.

'A plan capable of permanently altering the ownership and governance of the FIFA World Cup, and commercialising the competitions built by generations of players, was conceived in secrecy, negotiated behind closed doors and brought to the brink of agreement before the FIFA Council, the Member Associations, players and football’s recognised stakeholders even knew it existed.

'That is not merely a governance failure. It is a profound abuse of presidential power.'

They also ripped into FIFA's latest update from its meeting in Morocco and called for 'structural safeguards to ensure these events can never be repeated'.

This includes legally binding engagement 'with professional football's stakeholders on decisions of major consequence' and voting rights for them on the FIFA council.

The statement concluded: 'The withdrawal of FFE prevented an irreversible decision. It did not restore the confidence that made such a proposal possible in the first place.

'That confidence has now been fundamentally broken. It cannot be rebuilt through carefully drafted statements, internal reviews or promises to improve processes. Nor can it be restored simply by announcing governance and structural reforms that should always have existed.

'These reforms are now indispensable. But they are the responsibility of the future, not an absolution of the past.

'The players did not create this crisis. They will insist that football emerges from it with stronger institutions, stronger safeguards and leadership worthy of the trust the game demands.'

Infantino is facing mounting pressure over his failed plan to sell off stakes in the FIFA World Cup

Football legend Luis Figo became the latest high-profile individual to call for him to resign, while Arsene Wenger distanced himself from Infantino's plans

UEFA’s initial statement on Saturday had branded Infantino's proposal to flog commercial and event operations as a ‘shabby, back room, opaque deal’.

After Infantino’s apparent vote of confidence, they added: 'UEFA’s associations were very clear about the conditions attached to their non participation in FIFA competitions.

'First, the proposals to sell off the major competitions had to be withdrawn and secondly, assurances have to be made that such attempts to disfigure the game in this way will never be made again.

'These conditions have not been met. In addition, UEFA made it abundantly clear in its statement on Saturday that it has lost confidence in Gianni Infantino’s presidency. That position holds.

'Yesterday’s announcement that some people employed by the FIFA President (and whose careers depend on his favour) agree with him changes nothing.'

The backing for Infantino from within came hours after Luis Figo became the latest high-profile name to call for Infantino’s head in a blistering attack in Daily Mail Sport.

Figo had described Infantino’s now-aborted plan to flog a stake in the World Cup to private investors as the ‘lowest, most deceitful and cravenly self-interested behaviour I have ever witnessed’ and a ‘grubby, underhand plot’.

Figo, the former Barcelona and Real Madrid star, who initially backed Infantino in 2015, branded the Swiss a ‘relic who should have no part in football’s future’ and accused him of ‘a litany of abuses’.

Aside from the World Cup sell-off, he referenced the decision to suspend the ban for USA striker Folarin Balogun after his red card at the World Cup and the half-time show during the final which ‘broke the laws of the game’.

‘Infantino has debased the office of FIFA president he promised to elevate,’ he wrote.

‘He has lied, deceived and tried to feather his own nest at the expense of the game he is supposed to serve.’ Should he survive, Infantino would face re-election in March, and would need 106 votes from FIFA's 211 members to win another term in charge of the global game.

Meanwhile, Infantino did get some backing today, with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) reaffirming its support for the president.