FIFA President Gianni Infantino has been thrust into a massive storm after a human rights organisation, FairSquare, filed a formal complaint against him.
The formal complaint against Infantino was filed before the International Olympic Committee (IOC), alleging breaches of political neutrality rules in his dealings with United States President Donald Trump.
Pan-Atlantic Kompass reports that the development traces back to the United States’ Round of 32 clash against Bosnia and Herzegovina, where USMNT star Folarin Balogun was shown a straight red card.
Under standard FIFA tournament rules, a red card carries an automatic one-match ban, which would have ruled the striker out of the crucial Round of 16 match against Belgium.
However, following the red card, Trump reportedly made direct phone calls to Infantino to argue that the suspension was “unfair” and to personally urge a review.
Trump later publicly praised FIFA’s eventual decision to lift the ban, calling it a “brilliant decision” and taking credit for the U.S talisman’s reinstatement.
While Balogun was cleared and played in the Round of 16 fixture, the U.S was ultimately eliminated by Belgium in a 4-1 defeat.
In its formal complaint against Infantino, FairSquare outlined five breaches of the IOC’s rules on political neutrality, alongside ‘prima facie’ evidence of two additional serious breaches, including the Balogun case.
“Gianni Infantino has repeatedly breached the IOC’s rules on political neutrality by offering his political support for the President of the United States, Donald Trump,” FairSquare said in a statement.
“As outlined below, the evidence suggests that Mr Infantino has committed five clear breaches of IOC rules on political neutrality through statements or other clear expressions of support for the US President.
“We have also provided prima facie evidence of two further serious breaches, which we would request that the IOC investigate. The first of these relates to possible acquiescence to political pressure from President Trump to circumvent FIFA’s on-field disciplinary rules during the 2026 men’s World Cup.
“The second of these relates to Mr Infantino’s promotion of a FIFA fan site for the 2026 men’s World Cup, which appears to have been part of a data-harvesting campaign run by entities linked to President Trump.”
The group previously submitted a similar complaint to Fifa’s ethics committee in December, which was acknowledged but received no further information. Last month, the Norwegian football federation wrote to Fifa’s ethics committee requesting consideration of FairSquare’s complaint.
Additionally, fifty Members of the European Parliament urged the same committee on June 29 to address the allegations.
