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The dismissal of chief operating officer Kevin Lamour by Fifa sends a “deeply troubling message to all of us seeking change”, according to Uefa vice-president Laura McAllister.

On Monday evening, world football’s governing body confirmed Lamour’s departure, just over a fortnight after he told the Associated Press that the Fifa administration had been “deceived” by president Gianni Infantino over a proposal to sell shares in a World Cup-related entity to private investors.

Lamour’s public remarks on 31 July, coupled with the resignation of senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro earlier the same day, put Infantino under intense pressure, with Lamour describing the private investment plan as “the project of one person”.

McAllister, the former Wales captain and current member of the Uefa executive committee, who had previously worked with Lamour when he was deputy general secretary at European football’s governing body, has now strongly criticised his sacking.

“I know Kevin Lamour to be an honourable and exemplary sports leader who was a trusted colleague of mine when I was first elected to Uefa Ex Co,” McAllister said in a statement.

“Kevin is not only a deeply principled leader who cares passionately for football, but a brave advocate for the values that should underpin all we do as custodians of our game.

“During the shabby events of the past weeks, he showed himself to be a courageous advocate for the most important stakeholders in football.

“Having worked with Kevin, I know that his leadership always operates on principles of respect, independence, transparency and sound governance.

“Kevin’s sacking seriously weakens Fifa’s administration, while undermining this unique opportunity to shift the culture at Fifa and reset the organisation around sporting values, not simply commercial and financial ones. Fifa is not the president, it is the whole football family.

“As I have said repeatedly, world football needs strong, principled, independent leaders who are prepared to speak up, challenge when necessary, and stand firmly by their values and those of the global game.

“Instead, the loss of a leader of Kevin’s calibre sends a deeply troubling message to all of us seeking change.”

Lamour did not attend the Fifa management board meeting in Morocco on 5 August, at which the board declared its “full support” for Infantino.

Uefa, together with Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), accused Infantino of “deception” over the private investment strategy in an open letter published last week.

The signatories to that letter – including confederation presidents Aleksander Ceferin, Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa and Victor Montagliani – want Infantino to take the opportunity to resign and leave his position with dignity, the Press Association understands.

A number of Uefa member associations have withdrawn their backing for Infantino’s re-election campaign before next year’s Congress, with Israel becoming the latest to remove its support on Tuesday.

Moshe Zuares, president of the Israel FA, wrote that recent developments had triggered “an unprecedented crisis of trust”, adding: “The divide between the parties appears profound, substantive, and principled, compelling all stakeholders to reconsider the path forward.

“In the circumstances that have arisen, we have no choice but to retract our previous letter of support, in the sincere hope that fruitful dialogue among all parties will eventually restore a shared, proper vision and direction for world football.”

Infantino’s idea to create a new body, Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE), to run the commercial and operational arms of its competitions, including the men’s and women’s World Cups, was first reported by The Times and the Financial Times on 28 July.

Fifa confirmed details of the plan later that day, including proposals to sell a minority stake in FFE to private financiers. The governing body said that Thrive Eternal, a company founded by Joshua Kushner – brother of United States President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner – would lead the investor group.

Infantino eventually withdrew the proposal, but Uefa is still maintaining its threat to boycott Fifa tournaments, a warning first issued while the FFE project remained active. The next Fifa event after the men’s World Cup is the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland, which begins next month.

Although Fifa’s 5 August statement backing Infantino included a commitment to review the procedures surrounding the FFE proposal, nearly two weeks after that announcement the organisation has still not confirmed who will carry out the review.