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Topics: Gianni Infantino, FIFA, Donald Trump, FIFA World Cup
Jack Kenmare
Topics: Gianni Infantino, FIFA, Donald Trump, FIFA World Cup
An official complaint against Gianni Infantino has been submitted to FIFA's ethics committee after US President Donald Trump was awarded a peace prize at the 2026 World Cup draw.
FIFA attracted a huge amount of criticism both during and after Friday's World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.
Trump, who was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States in January, was presented with the inaugural “FIFA Peace Prize" trophy as he was recognised for his actions to "promote peace and unity around the world".
As per the FIFA website, Trump played "a pivotal role in establishing a ceasefire and promoting peace between Israel and Palestine" and has "actively sought to end other conflicts" around the world.
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Infantino presented Trump with a large golden trophy – formed of hands holding the earth – and a gold medal.
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Questions have since been raised about the process that saw Trump receive the inaugural prize, and now, an official complaint has been submitted to FIFA’s ethics committee.
FairSquare, a non-profit organisation and advocacy group, have issued the complaint, which claims that FIFA president Gianni Infantino has “committed four clear breaches” of FIFA’s duty to neutrality, which are all in relation to the FIFA president’s public championing of Trump.
In addition to the above, FairSquare want the ethics committee to “investigate the circumstances surrounding the decision to introduce and award a FIFA Peace Prize and their conformity with FIFA’s procedural rules.”
Infantino has “committed four clear breaches” of FIFA’s duty to neutrality, according to the complaint, with the first relating to publicly lobbying for Donald Trump to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025.
Taking to Instagram on the day before the scheduled announcement of the winner, Infantino said that Trump “definitely deserves” to win the prize for his so-called "decisive actions", which seemingly refers to his role in an Israel-Gaza ceasefire.
A statement from FairSquare says this is "a clear personal endorsement of President Trump’s intervention in a contentious political situation.”
A second alleged breach happened in November, when Infantino defended Trump at the America Business Forum in Miami.
Here, Infantino called Trump “a really close friend” and encouraged people to support Trump’s work as President. FairSquare claim Infantino took a “very clear political position" with his comments.
Infantino was quoted as saying: “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?"
He added: “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.”
Another alleged breach took place at Friday's World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center. Here, Infantino awarded Trump the first-ever FIFA Peace Prize and, as noted by FairSquare, told him on stage: “You can always count on my support.”
The video introducing Trump also echoed political claims about ending wars.
FairSquare's 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.”
A fourth and final alleged breach refers to the use of Trump’s campaign language in an Instagram video posted by Infantino.
In the clip, Infantino thanked Trump for inviting him to the presidential pre-inauguration rally in Washington and said: “Together we will make not only America great again but also the entire world.”
FairSquare says this mimics Trump’s political slogan and breaks neutrality.
The complaint 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.”
An eight-page letter was submitted to FIFA’s Ethics Committee and to FIFA’s communications team on Monday, according to The Athletic.
SPORTbible has reached out to FIFA for comment.