A complaint brought by human rights groups to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) against FIFA president Gianni Infantino has been dismissed, with an IOC spokesperson confirming the matter is outside the ethics committee’s purview. FairSquare filed a complaint accusing Infantino of “repeatedly violating political neutrality rules.”
The group filed a similar lawsuit with FIFA’s Ethics Committee last year, alleging that Infantino had repeatedly publicly expressed support for the actions and policies of US President Donald Trump. The previous complaint was considered and ultimately dismissed, and the IOC now takes the same position. “The IOC Ethics Commission thoroughly analyzed the complaint from Fair Square,” an IOC spokesperson said.
“The IOC Ethics Commission noted that the complaints, including those regarding the FIFA President, refer only to the IFs’ decisions regarding governance and management, including relations with governments, and the implementation of the competition rules by the IFs, both of which are outside the scope of the IOC Code of Ethics.
“This complaint is outside the jurisdiction of the IOC Ethics Commission. Fair Square has been informed.”
Infantino came under fire for being photographed with Donald Trump during the World Cup, a moment FairSquare highlighted in its complaint. During the convention, Trump was involved in several controversial incidents, lending further credibility to the group’s opposition.
During last Sunday’s final, jeers rang out around New York’s New Jersey Stadium as Mr. Trump and Mr. Infantino took to the pitch for the World Cup trophy ceremony. The US president also intervened in the controversy over Folarin Balogun’s red card, prompting Infantino’s intervention and increasing calls for the FIFA chief’s resignation.
Balogun should have been automatically suspended for the match against Belgium following his sending off in the previous match. Nevertheless, the automatic one-game suspension was postponed after President Trump and White House World Cup Task Force Director Andrew Giuliani contacted Infantino by phone.
FIFA said it had suspended the sanction and allowed the co-hosting team’s top scorer to play, but FIFA insists Infantino was not involved in the sanctioning process.
President Trump later praised the ruling on Truth Social, writing, “Thank you FIFA for doing the right thing and reversing a great injustice.”
