Gianni Infantino may soon have two ethics investigations to deal with. Human rights group FairSquare has announced it will file a complaint with the International Olympic Committee alleging the FIFA president repeatedly breached political neutrality rules through his public support for Donald Trump — escalating a dispute that FIFA itself has done little to resolve.
Infantino has been an IOC member since 2020, and that membership now gives FairSquare a second lever to pull. IOC President Kirsty Coventry confirmed on Tuesday that no complaint had yet been received, but added plainly: "Obviously, if they do, they would look into it." That's not a dismissal. That's a door left open.
What the complaint actually says
FairSquare originally filed with FIFA's Ethics Committee back in December 2025, citing multiple instances where Infantino publicly backed Trump's actions and policies. The complaint invokes Article 15 of the FIFA Code of Ethics — the duty of political neutrality — which carries penalties ranging from a 10,000 Swiss franc fine (roughly $12,378) up to a two-year ban from football-related activity.
But the neutrality issue is only part of it. The complaint also challenges the creation of a FIFA Peace Prize and its award to Trump at the World Cup draw — questioning whether that decision went through the FIFA Council at all, or whether Infantino made it unilaterally. "If Mr Infantino acted unilaterally and without any statutory authority, this should be considered an egregious abuse of power," FairSquare said.
FIFA acknowledged receiving the complaint but has given no indication that an investigation has actually begun. Under FIFA's own rules, filing a complaint doesn't guarantee proceedings open — and complainants aren't even entitled to updates due to confidentiality clauses. It's a structure that makes accountability remarkably difficult to enforce from the outside.
The pressure is building from multiple directions
FairSquare isn't alone anymore. Fifty Members of the European Parliament have written to FIFA's Ethics Committee backing the complaint. The Norwegian Football Federation has formally added its voice, asking the committee to assess whether Infantino violated FIFA's statutes through the Peace Prize award and related conduct.
There's also the Balogun case hanging in the background. Trump personally urged Infantino to review the American striker's red-card suspension before the US faced Belgium in the last 16. FIFA suspended the ban. The US still lost 4-1. Infantino denied involvement in the final call — but the optics of a sitting president lobbying the FIFA chief over a tournament decision, and that decision going his way, speak for themselves.
The IOC complaint won't resolve overnight. But with the World Cup still running, European parliamentarians on record, and a second governing body now potentially in play, Infantino's position is drawing scrutiny from more directions than FIFA's own closed-door ethics process can comfortably contain.
