Gianni Infantino accused of breaching FIFA’s ethics codes in relation to President Trump comments
An official complaint has been submitted to FIFA’s Ethics Committee, alleging “repeated breaches” of FIFA’s duty of political neutrality by its president, Gianni Infantino, while also requesting an investigation into the process that saw United States President Donald Trump receive the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize.
The complaint has been made by FairSquare, a non-profit organization and advocacy group which focuses mainly on global labour migration rights, political repression and sport. In the sporting realm, the organization says it promotes “better, more democratic governance to prevent sporting institutions contributing to harm and suffering.”
An eight-page letter, reviewed by The Athletic, was submitted to FIFA’s Ethics Committee and to FIFA’s communications team on Monday. FIFA’s self-titled Independent Ethics Committee is one of its judicial bodies and, according to world soccer’s governing body, it is primarily responsible for investigating possible infringements of the FIFA Code of Ethics.
The Ethics Committee has investigatory and adjudicatory chambers. The investigatory chamber has representation from Rwanda, China, Canada, Malaysia, Greece, Kenya, Argentina, Vanuatu and Panama. The nine-person committee is chaired by Rwandan Martin Ngoga, who is also the permanent representative of Rwanda to the United Nations. Sanctioning powers for breaches of any of FIFA’s rules and regulations can include a warning, reprimand, fine, compliance training, and a ban on taking part in any football-related activity.
The FairSquare complaint details four alleged breaches by Infantino of FIFA’s duty of neutrality, as outlined in article 15 of FIFA’s Code of Ethics, all in relation to the FIFA president’s public championing of President Trump.
It also requests that the Ethics Committee “investigate the circumstances surrounding the decision to introduce and award a FIFA Peace Prize and their conformity with FIFA’s procedural rules.” Trump received the Peace Prize in the middle of the FIFA World Cup draw on Friday in Washington, D.C., where Infantino presented the U.S. President with a large trophy, a medal and a certificate.
FIFA did not respond to a request for comment.
The FIFA Peace Prize alongside a replica of the World Cup trophy in the Oval Office (Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images
According to the complaint, Infantino has “committed four clear breaches” of FIFA’s duty to neutrality. In FIFA’s statutes, it says that “FIFA remains neutral in matters of politics and religion.” FIFA’s Code of Ethics also “requires that all persons bound by the code remain politically neutral … in dealings with government institutions.”
The first relates to Infantino publicly lobbying for Trump to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize earlier in 2025. President Trump had previously said publicly that he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize but was unlikely to receive it. On October 9, the day before the scheduled announcement of the winner, Infantino, referring to Trump’s role in an Israel-Gaza ceasefire, wrote on Instagram: “President Donald J. Trump definitely deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his decisive actions.” According to FairSquare, this intervention “constitutes a clear personal endorsement of President Trump’s intervention in a contentious political situation.” The Nobel Peace Prize instead went to Venezuelan Maria Corina Machado.
Another alleged breach took place on November 5, when Infantino was interviewed at the America Business Forum in Miami and launched an impassioned defence of Trump and his performance as U.S. President. Trump had spoken earlier in the day at the same conference on the same stage.
FairSquare’s submission records that Infantino said that he considered President Trump “a really close friend” and the FIFA President said on stage: “I’m a bit surprised sometimes when I read some negative comments (about President Trump). I am not American, but as far as I understand, President Trump was elected in the United States of America and was quite clearly elected. When you are in such a great democracy as the United States of America, you should first of all respect the results of the election, right?
“In the end, he was elected based on the programme, based on what he said. He is just implementing what he said he would do, so I think we should all support what he’s doing because I think it’s looking pretty good.”
FairSquare argues that in making this statement, Mr Infantino took a “very clear political position.” It says that “any reasonable interpretation of Mr Infantino’s comments would conclude that he a) encouraged people to support the political agenda of President Trump, and b) expressed his personal approval of President Trump’s political agenda.”
FairSquare adds: “Furthermore, there can be no suggestion that these statements were made in his private capacity, since Mr Infantino was appearing at a public event in his role as FIFA President.”
The complaint also argues that a breach took place during the World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center on Friday. It says that the FIFA video which introduced Trump as the winner of the FIFA Peace Prize effectively echoed claims from Trump and the White House that he has ended numerous wars across the world. In some of those instances, he has been praised by the warring parties, but his role is more disputed in others, while tensions and/or fighting have remained in several cases, according to analysis from the New York Times.
FairSquare notes that Infantino then told Trump on stage at the draw: “This is what we want from a leader … you definitely deserve the first FIFA Peace Prize for your action for what you have obtained in your way but you obtained it in an incredible way and you can always count, Mr President, on my support.”
The complaint argues: “This constitutes a clear personal endorsement of President Trump’s foreign policy in numerous countries and ongoing armed conflicts. Statements of this nature breach the duty of neutrality outlined in article 15 of the FIFA Code of Ethics.”
The final of the four breaches refers to a short video published on Infantino’s Instagram account on January 20, 2025, in which he thanked President Trump for inviting him to the presidential pre-inauguration rally in Washington, D.C. the previous day.
FairSquare reports that Mr Infantino concluded the video by saying: “Together we will make not only America great again but also the entire world.” FairSquare argues that Infantino is betraying his neutrality by mirroring the Make America Great Again (MAGA) language often used by Trump in political campaigning and in his agenda.
(Win McNamee/Getty Images)
FairSquare’s complaint says that it recognizes FIFA must engage with the U.S. government because it is a co-host of the men’s World Cup and also appreciates that FIFA must also have a “functional and diplomatic relationship” to achieve its aims.
However, the submission warns: “Mr Infantino’s engagement with President Trump must be underpinned by and in conformity with his duty of neutrality, which requires that he be non-partisan and impartial on matters of US domestic and foreign policy, unless speaking about issues that invoke FIFA’s own legal or human rights responsibilities. In offering clear support for President Trump’s political agenda at home and abroad, Mr Infantino has breached that duty, and done so in a way that poses a clear threat to the integrity and reputation of football and of FIFA itself.”
The final part of the submission requests an Ethics Committee investigation into the circumstances that surrounded the creation of the FIFA Peace Prize. The submission cites last weeks’ reporting by The Athletic, which said that neither the FIFA Council nor the FIFA vice-presidents were consulted on the prize or a selection criteria before the prize was announced on December 5.
The complaint requests an investigation into “the internal FIFA processes that led to the creation.” It says: “The award of a prize of this nature to a sitting political leader is in and of itself a clear breach of FIFA’s duty of neutrality.” It also argues that the FIFA Statutes indicate that the decision to introduce a FIFA Peace Prize should have been taken by the FIFA Council. It points to Article 34 of the statutes, which says that “the Council defines FIFA’s mission, strategic direction, policies and values, in particular with regard to the organisation and development of football at worldwide level and all related matters.”
FIFA had previously been sent a letter by Human Rights Watch (HRW) requesting information about the process and criteria applied by soccer’s world governing body ahead of handing out its inaugural peace prize. The letter, first reported on by The Athletic, was written to Infantino on November 11, with a deadline of November 20 for a response. HRW says it has not received one.
A statement from Minky Worden, HRW director of global initiatives, said the award lacked legitimacy as it appeared to have “no nominees, no criteria, no judges and no process.”
Upon receiving the prize, Trump said: “This is truly one of the great honors of my life.”
“And beyond awards,” he continued, before referencing conflicts he helped end. “We saved millions and millions of lives.”
