FIFA: Probe into Infantino 'grotesque and absurd'

In a video press conference with reporters on Monday, FIFA Deputy Secretary General Alasdair Bell called the Swiss criminal investigation of the soccer body's president, Gianni Infantino, "grotesque" and "absurd."

At the end of July, Swiss prosecutors stated there were "indications of criminal conduct" in undocumented meetings between Infantino and Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber, who will leave his post next month.

Read more: Gianni Infantino FIFA investigation: Five big questions

"There is no factual basis whatsoever for this criminal investigation," Bell said. "There is nothing serious to investigate."

Bell insisted Infantino had "absolutely nothing to hide" and that his legal team has "no idea what the FIFA President has done wrong." Bell added that FIFA attorneys were "still trying to understand what's behind it."

"There is no description of criminal conduct of any kind that has been communicated to FIFA. There is something a little grotesque and unfair in all this because we are 100% confident there will never be a criminal charge against the FIFA president," he added.

In a statement released following the opening of the investigation last Thursday, Infantino insisted that meeting Lauber is "perfectly legitimate and it's perfectly legal." FIFA also said it would cooperate fully with the investigation.

dv/jh (AP, Reuters)