The Trouble With FIFA: 2 Lawyers to Serve As Mediators Amidst Restructuring

Fifa has brought in two lawyers to act as mediators in disputes with staff, amid major restructuring at world football’s governing body.

A Fifa spokesman told the AFP news agency that specialist labour lawyers Nirmala Dias and Andreas Blattmann would “work with employees of Fifa to explore and assist them in determining options to help resolve conflicts, problematic issues or concerns.”

The February 2016 election of Gianni Infantino to replace Sepp Blatter as president of the scandal-plagued body has since resulted in the departure of a number of leading officials. These departures have included medical director Jiri Dvorak and head of security Ralf Mutschke.

Dias and Blattmann started work on Tuesday. Fifa said they would also “bring systemic concerns to the attention of the organisation for resolution.” However, it added that the lawyers would not have any dealings with national associations.