{"id":4959,"date":"2025-12-10T07:25:06","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T07:25:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=4959"},"modified":"2025-12-10T07:25:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T07:25:06","slug":"fifas-gianni-infantino-faces-ethics-complaint-over-trump-peace-prize-football-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=4959","title":{"rendered":"FIFA\u2019s Gianni Infantino faces ethics complaint over Trump peace prize | Football News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Rights group FairSquare accuses world football governing body of \u2018openly flouting\u2019 its own rules on political neutrality.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 10 Dec 2025<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">10 Dec 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>FIFA President Gianni Infantino\u2019s effusive praise for Donald Trump and the decision by the world football governing body to award a peace prize to the US president have triggered a formal complaint over ethics violations and political neutrality.<\/p>\n<p>Human rights group FairSquare said on Tuesday that it has filed a complaint with FIFA\u2019s ethics committee, claiming the organisation\u2019s behaviour was against the common interests of the global football community.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>The complaint stems from Infantino awarding Trump FIFA\u2019s inaugural peace prize during the December 6 draw for the 2026 World Cup to be played in the United States, Canada and Mexico in June and July.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis complaint is about a lot more than Infantino\u2019s support for President Donald Trump\u2019s political agenda,\u201d FairSquare\u2019s programme director Nicholas McGeehan said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMore broadly, this is about how FIFA\u2019s absurd governance structure has allowed Gianni Infantino to openly flout the organisation\u2019s rules and act in ways that are both dangerous and directly contrary to the interests of the world\u2019s most popular sport,\u201d said McGeehan, head of the London-based advocacy group.<\/p>\n<p>According to the eight-page complaint from the rights group filed with FIFA on Monday, Infantino\u2019s awarding of the peace prize \u201cto a sitting political leader is in and of itself a clear breach of FIFA\u2019s duty of neutrality\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Mr. Infantino acted unilaterally and without any statutory authority this should be considered an egregious abuse of power,\u201d the rights group said.<\/p>\n<p>FairSquare also pointed to Infantino lobbying on social media earlier this year for Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the Israel-Gaza conflict. Venezuela\u2019s Maria Corina Machado ultimately received the prize.<\/p>\n<p>FairSquare said it wants FIFA\u2019s independent committee to review Infantino\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n<p>The New York-based Human Rights Watch also criticised FIFA\u2019s awarding of the prize to Trump, saying his administration\u2019s \u201cappalling human rights record certainly does not display exceptional actions for peace and unity\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Disciplinary action from the FIFA Ethics Committee can include a warning, a reprimand and even a fine. Compliance training can also be ordered, while a ban can be levied on participation in football-related activity. But it remains unclear if the ethics committee will take up the complaint.<\/p>\n<p>Infantino has not immediately responded, and FIFA said it does not comment on potential cases.<\/p>\n<p>Current FIFA-appointed ethics investigators and judges are seen by some observers to operate with less independence than their predecessors a decade ago, when FIFA\u2019s then-president, Sepp Blatter, was removed from office.<\/p>\n<p>Trump was on hand for the World Cup 2026 draw ceremony on Friday, along with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.<\/p>\n<p>But it was Trump who received the most attention during the event at the Kennedy Centre in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n<p>During the event, Infantino presented Trump with a gold trophy, a gold medal and a certificate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is your prize; this is your peace prize,\u201d Infantino told Trump.<\/p>\n<p>FIFA also played a video that touched on some of Trump\u2019s efforts towards so-called peace agreements.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rights group FairSquare accuses world football governing body of \u2018openly flouting\u2019 its own rules on political neutrality. Published On 10 Dec 202510 Dec 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share FIFA President Gianni Infantino\u2019s effusive praise for Donald Trump and the decision by the world football governing body to award a peace [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4960,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-canada-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4959\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}