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European nations discussing World Cup boycott after FIFA boss floats selling shares in spin-off venture

July 28, 2026 at 20:21

European nations are discussing boycotting the World Cup if Gianni Infantino pushes ahead with plans to sell off part of FIFA to private investors, Sky News can reveal.

UEFA nations will hold an emergency meeting virtually this week to discuss their opposition to FIFA's attempt to launch a new commercial company with external investment, a source said.

It was only after UEFA went public with concerns about plans it was hearing that FIFA confirmed its president Infantino wants to launch a subsidiary worth $20bn (£15bn) and sell off more than 20% of the new FIFA Forward Enterprise by raising $4.2bn (£3.16bn).

It's understood the Football Association was completely unaware of the plans before Tuesday's rushed announcement by FIFA.

FIFA did not raise the landmark strategy during meetings with football associations in New York on the eve of the World Cup final.

The plans and way they have emerged provoked renewed fury within UEFA at how Infantino is running FIFA.

European football's governing body said in a statement: "This crosses a line that football's governing institutions should never cross. UEFA takes it extremely seriously.

"So should every National Football Association. So should every stakeholder: leagues, clubs, players, supporters, governments and everyone who cares about the future of the game.

"The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade - especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially. None of us are the owners of football. It is not FIFA's to sell."

We understand that there is a willingness for European nations to use the ultimate threat of boycotting the World Cup if Infantino does not back down.

The next World Cup is the women's tournament in Brazil next year.

In 2021, FIFA did drop a bid to stage the World Cup every two years when UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said European nations would not participate.

It was only last month that FIFA was accused by UEFA during the World Cup of damaging the integrity of football by lifting the immediate suspension of USA striker Folarin Balogun following direct pleas from US President Donald Trump.

Ceferin then snubbed the World Cup final, having attended the opening match.

But in 2025, UEFA accused Infantino of prioritising "private political interests" when he turned up late for his own FIFA Congress to join Trump's Gulf tour.

While FIFA is working with JPMorgan, there are also Trump links to Infantino's plans for FIFA Forward Enterprise.

FIFA confirmed that the lead investor group is proposed to be Thrive Eternal. Its CEO is Josh Kushner, whose brother, Jared, is Trump's son-in-law.

Sky News reported in February how Infantino pushed plans for a FIFA crypto coin during a trip to a private event run by the Trump family's venture, World Liberty Financial.

Infantino responded to UEFA's criticism on Tuesday by framing the sell-off around raising more cash for member associations to invest in football.

From 2027 to 2030, they would have access to $20m rather than $8m to spend on infrastructure, coaching, national teams, competitions and grassroots development.

Infantino said: "Our next stage of growth needs a structure built for it, one where the commercial side of the game operates as a focused, dedicated business, with its value shared more and better all around the world.

"Every FIFA Member Association should have an opportunity to seek a fair share of the available funding to shape its own future, deciding for itself rather than relying on others. This is about the democratisation of football worldwide."

On X, the prime minister said football "belongs to the fans" not investors.

Andy Burnham added: "The World Cup is not a product. It is the greatest competition in world sport, and it was never anyone's to sell. Dress the deal up however you like. Once you have sold a piece of it, you have sold out."

FIFA did not immediately comment on the bonuses that Infantino could receive for advancing plans worth $20bn.

His salary last year reached $6m - almost half from his bonus rising 33% from delivering the first-expanded Club World Cup in the United States.

Current term limits mean he would have to relinquish the FIFA presidency in 2031 if re-elected next year after first succeeding the disgraced Sepp Blatter in 2016.

But it's understood Infantino could move into a more lucrative role overseeing the World Cup if the spin-off is approved.

UEFA's opposition could be hindered by having 55 member associations and FIFA saying it only needs support from a majority of the 211 FAs - many of whom lack the financial might of Europe and rely on funding from the global body.

But FIFA relies on European teams for the success of the World Cup - with Spain the current men's and women's champions - and that gives them the power to threaten withdrawing in opposition to Infantino.

Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd admits punching woman and assaulting her with barbecue tongs

July 28, 2026 at 16:39

A man jailed for manslaughter over the death of a woman in a 2015 speedboat crash has admitted violently assaulting another woman last year.

Appearing at court on Tuesday via a prison video link, Jack Shepherd pleaded guilty to three offences, including two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and damaging property.

The 38-year-old admitted pinning her down and punching her in February 2025, striking her in the chest with barbecue tongs in June 2025, and damaging her keys during that same month.

After he was accused of the violent incidents, Shepherd was recalled to prison in September last year.

He entered his guilty pleas at Isleworth Crown Court, west London, while in HMP Swaleside in Kent.

It came as prosecutors agreed to drop two other allegations, of controlling or coercive behaviour and intentional suffocation.

Shepherd, known as the speedboat killer, was originally jailed for 10 years for manslaughter in 2018 over the death of 24-year-old Charlotte Brown when his speedboat crashed during a first date.

He met Ms Brown, 24, on a dating website and was trying to impress her by taking her out on the River Thames in December 2015.

But the boat capsized and she was thrown into the cold water.

During their date, Shepherd took her for a £150 meal at a central London restaurant, where they drank two bottles of wine.

The couple then took champagne on to the speedboat for a trip past the Houses of Parliament.

In mobile phone footage, Ms Brown could be heard shouting that they were going "so fast" as Shepherd drove at more than double the 12-knot speed limit.

On the return journey, Shepherd handed over the controls to Ms Brown - who followed suit and went "full throttle".

The speeding boat hit a submerged log and tipped over near Wandsworth Bridge, throwing them both into the water.

Shepherd was found clinging to the hull and Ms Brown was pulled from the water unconscious and unresponsive. Paramedics tried to save her but she was already in cardiac arrest and suffering from hypothermia.

Shepherd, originally from Exeter, had denied manslaughter by gross negligence but was found guilty in his absence at the Old Bailey.

He skipped his trial while on the run in Georgia, before he was eventually extradited back to the UK to serve his sentence.

Shepherd had been set free on licence in January 2024 before he was recalled to jail last September.

Idaho student murders: Family of victim says killer a 'narcissist' over plan to withdraw guilty plea

July 28, 2026 at 18:10

The family of one of the victims of Bryan Kohberger has branded the convicted murderer a "narcissist", after he applied to withdraw his guilty plea.

Kohberger, 31, filed a hand-written petition from the Idaho Maximum Security Penitentiary on Monday, requesting to reverse his guilty plea, saying he was manipulated into accepting a plea deal.

The former criminal justice student is currently serving four consecutive life sentences for the murders of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen in 2022.

The application comes just over a year after he pleaded guilty to stabbing the students to death in the town of Moscow, Idaho, which allowed him to avoid facing trial and the death penalty.

In response to the application, the family of Kaylee Goncalves said Kohberger was a "narcissist" who was changing his plea because he wanted "another day in court".

"A nice break from his solitary confinement, getting to go for a ride, maybe some different food, photos taken and the attention all back on him and his 'innocence'," they said in a statement on their Facebook page.

They criticised his claim to have been manipulated into pleading guilty and argued that Kohberger had decided "not to leave his fate - and the facts of the case - up to a jury to decide his guilt".

"He never cried wolf or claimed he was uninformed, pressured, or that there were issues with the discovery that he and his counsel had for two years that he thought should have been challenged," they said.

They added: "The real issue is that if as much energy was put into honouring the victims in this case as trying to set a guilty man free there would be [statues] of the victims on every corner."

In his request, Kohberger said his legal team didn't adequately represent him and his guilty plea wasn't knowingly or voluntarily agreed to.

He claimed they failed to disclose or review evidence that might have helped his case during plea discussions, like an "unknown hair in Chapin's hand".

Kohberger also wrote that his lawyers insisted that his plea "need not be truthful, despite petitioner's vehement denial of actual guilt."

He said he had been promised life in prison would come with "immediate contact visits, freedom of movement, employment" and told "elaborate lies of DR (death row) life".

These claims are in contradiction to a declaration Kohberger made in July 2025 that he was pleading guilty "freely and voluntarily".

As part of that process, he also agreed to waive his rights to appeal, confirm that he understood the potential punishments and assure the court that he wasn't coerced into entering the plea.

In exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed they would not seek the death penalty, and instead would recommend that he be sentenced to four back-to-back life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 10 years.

On the prospect of a trail, the Goncalves family said: "An actual trial this time? Let's go! We are confident he will get the death penalty that he escaped by pleading guilty the first time around."

Kohberger's legal team argued during two years of hearings that capital punishment should be off the table.

The trial was just a month away when the plea agreement was reached.

Once a defendant has been sentenced, Idaho law requires them to show that they experienced "manifest injustice" to withdraw a guilty plea.

Teenage girl and mother who drowned at Essex beach named

July 28, 2026 at 16:22

A 15-year-old girl and her mother who drowned after getting into difficulty on the Essex coast have been named by police.

Shelina Rahman, 41, and her daughter Sameeha were in the water with four other family members at West Mersea beach on Wednesday 22 July when they got into difficulty.

The family and members of the public tried to help them, but Shelina and Sameeha, from Ilford in east London, were pronounced dead.

A seven-year-old boy was flown to hospital, where he remains in a critical condition after the incident near the Sea View Holiday Park.

Other family members were also taken to hospital for treatment and are recovering.

One witness, who did not give her name, said the group was standing on a sandbank when the tide suddenly came in and caused "total panic".

"The tide was a lot further in than it is now and that sandbank, they were on there and the tide came in," she said.

"It comes in very quickly and you have to be careful."

Detective Chief Inspector Al Pitcher, who is leading the investigation, said: "They had been enjoying a family day at the beach together when this tragedy happened.

"We are working to establish the circumstances which led up to this incident and our enquiries are ongoing.

"We have spoken to a number of key witnesses and will continue to do so over the coming days and will work with partners including the fire service, local council, and coastguard."

Anyone with information or footage has been asked to contact police on 101 and quote incident 1090 of 22 July.

Chief Inspector Michelle Sparks, District Commander for Colchester, added: "Since this tragic incident we have also seen an outpouring of support and sympathy.

"At times of tragedy you get to see how strong a community is, and we have a fantastic community on Mersea Island, and across the Colchester district."

There have been a number of drownings in the UK over the summer, including during the May heatwave when at least 15 people, mostly children, drowned swimming in open water.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham previously said the government would provide support to local authorities following the deaths, adding that it was "so sad to hear the news".

He told ITV Anglia: "It does bring over... the dangers of open water swimming at this time of the year."

Mother and boyfriend guilty of murdering her two-year-old daughter

July 28, 2026 at 15:04

A mother and her boyfriend have been convicted of murdering her two-year-old daughter - who was sexually abused before she suffered a catastrophic head injury.

Isabelle Rose Welsh collapsed at her home in Thornaby, Teesside, on 13 September last year after suffering a "massive head injury", a court previously heard.

Her mother, Alexandra Walker, 26, and partner Harrison Simpson, 22, were on trial for murder, allowing the death of a child, sexual assault and child cruelty - they denied all charges.

The pair were also convicted of child cruelty. Simpson was convicted of sexual assault on the toddler, while Walker was cleared of that charge.

'Campaign of violence'

On 13 September last year, paramedics responded to a 999 call and found Isabelle at the foot of the stairs, without a pulse and gravely ill.

As Isabelle was dying, Walker delayed ringing 999 despite Googling "why would my toddler be bleeding", and she smoked a cigarette in her kitchen.

She first called her step-father to come round and it was only on his instruction that she finally alerted the emergency services.

Paramedics arrived within a minute and found bruises all over the girl's body, which was cold to the touch, including to her head, neck, abdomen, back and private parts; there was blood in her nappy and sick on her face.

She was taken to hospital but died the next day.

A post mortem examination found that Isabelle had suffered 21 broken bones in the weeks leading up to her death.

Experts told the jury that Isabelle had been shaken and her head impacted against a wall or the floor.

Richard Wright KC, prosecuting, had said that: "For weeks this child had been violently assaulted and her death, by that terrible head injury, was simply the end point in that campaign of violence to which she had been subjected."

During her short relationship with Simpson, she voiced concerns that he might be a paedophile, and thought it was "weird" that he preferred to see her and Isabelle at the same time, rather than be alone with his girlfriend.

But Walker did not break up with him, even though she was suspicious enough to check if he was on the Sex Offenders' Register.

'Looks like she is being abused'

Just 11 days before her fatal collapse, Isabelle was taken to her GP and then to hospital with a broken leg.

Despite the misgivings of some staff, she was discharged to her mother, who had shown aggression towards medics - claiming that Isabelle must have hurt her leg when it got caught in her cot.

On that occasion, Walker had waited two weeks to seek medical help for Isabelle, despite the toddler being in pain and struggling to walk.

Walker had suffered from domestic violence previously and she had two cameras installed in her home, with one overlooking the back of the house that captured evidence reflected in a window.

The camera showed how Walker was a frequent drinker, sometimes downing up to 10 cans of Stella Artois, and Simpson was a habitual cannabis smoker.

Walker's concerned mother said "looks like she is being abused" during one visit after Isabelle's leg was broken.

The night when Isabelle was fatally injured, the couple stayed up late, with Walker drinking cans of lager and Simpson smoking cannabis.

The next morning Simpson got up - claiming to be looking after Isabelle - while Walker stayed in bed.

Ms Justice Norton thanked the jury for their work on such a "difficult" case and said the pair would be sentenced on Thursday.

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