FairSquare alleges FIFA president Gianni Infantino breached neutrality rules by awarding Donald Trump a peace prize and supporting his political agenda.
LAUSANNE: Human rights organisation FairSquare has filed a formal complaint to FIFA’s ethics committee.
The group alleges that FIFA president Gianni Infantino breached his duty of neutrality by supporting US President Donald Trump.
Infantino awarded Trump FIFA’s inaugural peace prize during the World Cup 2026 draw on December 6.
FairSquare also labelled FIFA’s governance structure as “absurd” in the complaint filed on Monday.
The group claims the organisation’s behaviour contradicts the interests of the global football community.
“This complaint is about a lot more than Infantino’s support for President Donald Trump’s political agenda,” said FairSquare’s programme director Nicholas McGeehan.
“More broadly this is about how FIFA’s absurd governance structure has allowed Gianni Infantino to openly flout the organisation’s rules.”
The complaint states awarding the prize to a “sitting political figure is in and of itself a clear breach” of FIFA’s ethics code.
FairSquare has requested an investigation into Infantino’s role in creating the peace prize and the decision to award it.
The NGO also highlighted Infantino’s October plea for Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
It cited three other occasions where the FIFA president made statements favourable to Trump’s agenda.
FIFA confirmed receipt of the complaint when contacted but declined further comment. – AFP
