World football's ruling body has angered many with the assertion by FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be played in winter.
Valcke's comment on Wednesday was quickly labelled a "personal opinion" by FIFA but that didn't stop a storm breaking out over the whole affair.
UEFA chief Michel Platini was quick to accuse the world body of making arbitrary decisions beyond its remit.
As UEFA president, Platini sits on the FIFA executive committee, headed by FIFA president Sepp Blatter, but he claimed Valcke's comments suggested that body was being bypassed by FIFA's top officials.
"At the last Executive Committee meeting in October it was decided that a deep consultation process should be launched throughout football and that no decision would be taken before the 2014 World Cup in Brazil," Platini told French sports newspaper L'Equipe.
"It was also decided that no-one should speak about this subject until then.
"Therefore I don't understand why it has been discussed publicly. Two months ago it was Blatter who spoke about it, this time it's Valcke, but it's a decision to be made by the FIFA Executive Committee.
"But maybe the Executive Committee no longer serves any purpose. If the decision has already been made then there's no need for us to meet."
On Wednesday, the second most powerful man in international football, told Radio France: "The dates for the World Cup (in Qatar) will not be June-July.
"To be honest, I think it will be held between November 15 and January 15 at the latest."
FIFA were quick to issue a statement insisting he was merely expressing his personal opinion rather than official policy.
But such a move would cause havoc in many European leagues and perhaps the most angered by Valcke's words were the English.
Oliver Kay, the chief football correspondent for Britain's The Times newspaper seemed resigned to the move.
"It was another careless, premature statement from one of the most powerful men in world football, but it pointed to two inescapable truths," he wrote.
"The first is that the 2022 World Cup will not take place in the summer heat of Qatar. The second is that, for all its talk of "very deep consultations", FIFA is merely going through the motions before rubber-stamping the first winter World Cup."
The Daily Mirror was equally indignant.
"Switching the World Cup to winter would spark chaos in leagues across the world, including the Premiership (Premier League), as they struggle to play fixtures with games in November, December and January scrapped."
One of the main concerns over high summer temperatures was for fans who risk being exposed to direct sunlight with temperatures topping 40 degrees.
But Kevin Miles, chief executive of the Football Supporters Federation in England, says moving the World Cup to winter would also affect fans.
"It is going to be seriously destructive to English football, and no doubt unpopular with fans," he said.
"Massive decisions are being taken over the heads of supporters without any consultation with them."
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