Fifa President Infantino faces ethics complaint over alleged breach of political neutrality over Trump

Fifa president Gianni Infantino is facing calls for an ethics investigation after human rights organisation FairSquare accused him of violating the governing body’s rules on political neutrality through his public support for United States president Donald Trump, Sport360NG reports.

In a formal complaint seen by BBC Sport, FairSquare alleges Infantino committed “four clear breaches” of Fifa’s neutrality principles, pointing to comments, social media activity and the decision to award Trump the inaugural Fifa Peace Prize at last week’s 2026 World Cup draw in Washington DC.

“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,” the letter states. It further argues that “the Fifa president does not have the authority to unilaterally dictate the organisation’s mission, strategic direction, policies and values.”

Fifa has been contacted for comment.

Infantino and Trump appeared together at the high-profile ceremony hosted at the Kennedy Center ahead of next year’s World Cup, which will be staged across the US, Canada and Mexico from 11 June to 19 July. Trump received a large golden trophy, a medal and a certificate from Infantino, who praised him as “what we want from a leader” and added: “You can always count, Mr President, on my support.”

The ethics complaint highlights several previous instances in which Infantino appeared to endorse Trump. In October, he posted on Instagram that Trump “definitely deserves” the Nobel Peace Prize. A month later, during an appearance at the American Business Forum in Miami, Infantino said people “should all support what [Trump] is doing” in the US.

FairSquare also cited a video posted by Infantino in January, shortly after he attended Trump’s inauguration, which the group claims “indicates support for President Trump’s political agenda”.

Nicholas McGeehan, FairSquare’s programme director, said the concerns extend beyond Infantino’s relationship with Trump. “This complaint is about a lot more than Infantino’s support for President Donald Trump’s political agenda,” he said. “More broadly this is about how Fifa’s absurd governance structure has allowed Gianni Infantino to openly flout the organisation’s rules and act in ways that are both dangerous and directly contrary to the interests of the world’s most popular sport.”