A complaint has been filed with the International Olympic Committee alleging that FIFA President Gianni Infantino violated political neutrality rules in his dealings with President Donald Trump.
Non-profit human rights organization FairSquare said Infantino, who became an IOC member in 2020, had repeatedly violated the Olympic Charter and the IOC Code of Ethics, most recently in the Folarin Balogun case.
FIFA’s disciplinary committee suspended the United States striker’s one-match ban, allowing him to play in the World Cup round of 16 match against Belgium. This followed Trump’s phone call to Infantino, in which Infantino insisted on the full independence of FIFA committees.
News of the complaint comes as ESPN reported that dozens of European lawmakers are gathering support to launch an investigation into the head of FIFA in the European Parliament.
The IOC cites neutrality among the “fundamental principles of Olympism” of sports bodies such as FIFA and has jurisdiction over Infantino since he joined its exclusive group of more than 100 invited members in 2020.
Sources told ESPN that, as first reported by The Times, disciplinary committee chairman Mohammad Al Kamali made the key decision to suspend the ban alone, having never been the sole arbitrator in any previously published disciplinary case.
FIFA did not explain why the suspension was suspended.
The incident with Gianni Infantino was reported to the IOC. Alfredo ESTRELLA/AFP via Getty Images
FairSquare’s complaint to the IOC Ethics Commission alleges five clear violations of the IOC’s rules on political neutrality, and there is prima facie evidence of two more serious violations, including the handling of the Balogun case.
“Gianni Infantino has repeatedly violated IOC rules on political neutrality by offering his political support to US President Donald Trump,” FairSquare said in a statement.
“As stated below, the evidence indicates that Mr. Infantino committed five clear violations of IOC rules on political neutrality through statements or other clear expressions of support for the President of the United States.
“We have also provided prima facie evidence of two further serious violations which we are asking the IOC to investigate. The first involves potentially agreeing to political pressure from President Trump to circumvent FIFA’s on-field disciplinary rules during the 2026 Men’s World Cup.
“The second relates to Mr. Infantino’s promotion of a FIFA fansite for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, which appears to have been part of a data collection campaign conducted by entities associated with President Trump.”
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FairSquare filed a similar complaint with FIFA’s ethics committee in December. FairSquare said it received confirmation that its complaint had been received, but received no further information.
Last month, the Norwegian Football Federation asked FIFA’s ethics committee to consider FairSquare’s complaint. On 29 June, fifty Members of the European Parliament wrote to the same committee calling for it to consider FairSquare’s complaint.
FIFA and the IOC have been contacted for comment.
Information from PA and The Associated Press contributed to this report.