Qatar Football Association (QFA) President Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani has questioned whether the AFC had the authority to issue a statement in the name of its 47 member associations without first consulting them.
In a letter to AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, Al-Thani said neither he nor the QFA was consulted before the confederation joined UEFA and CONCACAF in an open letter calling for Infantino to step down.
“A collective view must first be ascertained; it cannot be presumed, and it cannot be brought into existence by declaration,” Al-Thani wrote in the letter, seen by Reuters.
The dispute comes at a sensitive time for Infantino, who is seeking re-election next year and has faced growing criticism over his handling of FIFA's commercial affairs.
Al-Thani, who sits on both the AFC Executive Committee and the FIFA Council, asked the AFC to explain what consultation process had taken place and why it believed it was authorised to speak collectively on behalf of its members.
He said, “neither the QFA, nor I personally … was consulted, whether formally or informally, prior to the issuance of the statement.”
“No advance notice was given, no draft was circulated, and no opportunity was afforded to comment on, or contribute to, its content before it was released publicly in AFC’s name and on behalf of AFC’s members.”
The intervention highlights divisions within Asian football as the campaign over Infantino's future intensifies. While the AFC appeared to align itself with UEFA and CONCACAF in opposing the FIFA president, several Arab football leaders have since publicly backed him.
On Thursday, six heads of Arab national football associations, including Qatar and 2030 World Cup co-hosts Morocco, issued a statement supporting Infantino amid the controversy surrounding his failed attempt to introduce private investment into FIFA competitions.
Four of the six signatories — Al-Thani, Egypt's football federation president Hany Abo Rida, Morocco's Fouzi Lekjaa and Mauritania's Ahmed Yahya — are also members of the FIFA Council.
“We deeply appreciate Mr Infantino’s sustained efforts to advance football globally, expand opportunities across all regions and strengthen the game’s role in bringing people and communities together,” they said.
The opposing positions have created an unusual situation in which Qatar's football leadership appears to be distancing itself from an AFC position that was presented as representing the collective view of Asian football.
Infantino's latest crisis stems from a controversial proposal to sell 20 per cent of the commercial rights to the World Cup to private investors. The plan was expected to raise about $4.2 billion, but generated intense opposition before Infantino ultimately abandoned the proposal.
The failed investment plan has intensified scrutiny of Infantino's leadership and prompted calls from major football bodies for changes at FIFA.
With FIFA's presidential election approaching, the dispute inside the AFC could become increasingly significant. Qatar's challenge suggests that the apparent unity among Asian football associations over Infantino's future may be far less solid than the recent public statements indicate.