FIFA President Gianni Infantino was not acting criminally by taking no notes during secret talks with Switzerland's attorney general that are now part of a criminal investigation into the head of world football, a senior official at the governing body said Monday.

FIFA deputy secretary general Alasdair Bell defended Infantino's conduct while claiming not to know the specifics of the meetings, denying his boss had acted recklessly. "It's almost preposterous to suggest that because someone doesn't remember the details of a meeting, therefore something criminal should have been discussed," Bell said. Bell said Infantino has never denied the existence of meetings with attorney general Michael Lauber to discuss the sprawling investigation into football corruption. "I don't really think it's reckless not to take minutes when the FIFA president meets the attorney general of the country,"