Infantino faces fresh ethics complaint over Trump ties

FIFA President Gianni Infantino with US President Donald Trump.

ZURICH, Sept 8: FIFA President Gianni Infantino is facing a fresh ethics complaint accusing him of abusing his authority and breaching political neutrality over his close relationship with US President Donald Trump.

Human rights group FairSquare has submitted the complaint to FIFA’s Ethics Committee, alleging that Infantino violated several provisions of FIFA’s Code of Ethics.

According to the complaint, the incidents cited all involve Trump and collectively suggest that Infantino abused his position in an effort to gain the US president’s favor.

“Taken together, these incidents provide compelling evidence that, in his pursuit of favor with the US president, the FIFA president has abused his authority, violated his duty of political neutrality and breached his duty of loyalty, at a minimum,” the complaint said.

FairSquare also alleged that evidence pointing to Infantino seeking personal benefits from such conduct makes the accusations particularly serious.

Four of the eight incidents cited in the latest complaint were also included in a submission filed by the organization last December, following FIFA’s decision to award its inaugural Peace Prize to Trump, which attracted widespread criticism.

FairSquare said the new complaint includes allegations concerning Infantino’s involvement in the controversy surrounding the red card shown to US forward Folarin Balogun during the World Cup hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada earlier this year.

FIFA suspended Balogun’s ban following his red card, allowing him to feature in the US team’s next match after Trump reportedly intervened through a phone call with Infantino.

The organization described the latest allegations as evidence of a recurring pattern of misconduct and failures at the highest level of football leadership.

Infantino is also under pressure over plans to sell stakes in FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, to private investors. Those plans were subsequently abandoned.

The controversy has developed into one of the biggest challenges of Infantino’s presidency since he took office in 2016. UEFA has threatened to boycott FIFA events and is preparing legal action over the proposed investment plans, citing concerns about possible breaches of fiduciary duties.

Despite the growing criticism, Infantino has confirmed that he will stand for re-election as FIFA president in March.