FIFA President Gianni Infantino faces accusations of “repeated” violations of his duty of neutrality in political matters.
FairSquare— an independent, London-based non-government organization (NGO) that promotes human rights and good governance in sport — has filed an official letter of complaint with the ethics committee of football’s world governing body, FIFA (International Federation of Football Associations).
According to reports by both The Athletic and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the letter is eight pages long and lists four alleged violations of FIFA guidelines. FairSquare is also calling for an investigation into the awarding of the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to US President Donald Trump.
Donald Trump receives first FIFA peace prize
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The allegations relate to Infantino’s close relationship with the US president, and are based on Article 15 of the FIFA Code of Ethics, which requires all officials to remain politically neutral. They are not permitted to make any public statements or take any actions that could be interpreted as supporting or opposing political parties, governments or their programs. Violations can be punished with fines and bans from all football-related activities.
Repeated support for Trump’s policies
One of the allegations concerns last Friday’s World Cup draw. A FIFA video played during the draw explicitly praised Trump’s political measures and repeated his message that he had ended numerous wars around the world. Infantino emphasized that Trump could always count on his support. Infantino had already nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize at the beginning of October.
Gianni Infantino has come under heavy criticism for awarding Donald Trump the FIFA Peace PrizeImage: Evan Vucci/AP Photo/picture alliance
On November 5, he praised the Republican at an economic meeting in Miami, saying the president was “only implementing what he announced, so we should all support his measures because I think they look pretty good.”
Threat to the integrity of football
While FairSquare acknowledges that FIFA must cooperate with the US government regarding the 2026 World Cup, the letter also stated: “By clearly supporting President Trump’s political agenda at home and abroad, Mr. Infantino has violated his duty in a manner that poses a clear threat to the integrity and reputation of football and FIFA itself.”
The introduction of the new peace prize is also criticized.
“Awarding a prize of this kind to a sitting political leader is in itself a clear violation of FIFA’s duty of neutrality,” FairSquare wrote.
According to media reports, the FIFA Council was not involved in the decision.
DW asked FIFA and its Ethics Committee for comment on Infantino’s statements in favor of Donald Trump with regards to Article 15 of the Code of Ethics, the decision-making processes surrounding the FIFA Peace Prize, and the question of an independent, transparent investigation into the allegations.
FIFA’s response was: “We will check internally and come back to you if [we have] any comment.”
Edited by: Chuck Penfold.
