FIFA president Gianni Infantino is facing a formal complaint to the International Olympic Committee over how he has conducted himself throughout the 2026 World Cup, according to a report from The Irish News.
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What FIFA’s Gianni Infantino Is Accused Of
Human rights group FairSquare submitted the complaint, alleging that Infantino, who became an IOC member in 2020, has repeatedly breached the Olympic Charter and the IOC’s code of ethics regarding political neutrality. The group points to his dealings with US President Donald Trump as a central part of the complaint.
Among the specific incidents cited is the handling of the Folarin Balogun disciplinary case. The United States forward received a one match ban that was suspended by FIFA’s disciplinary committee, clearing him to play in the World Cup’s Round of 16 match against Belgium. That decision came after President Trump reportedly called Infantino directly, though the FIFA president has maintained that FIFA’s disciplinary committees operate independently of him.
Gianni Infantino’s FIFA Facing Scrutiny Over Balogun Decision
According to reporting cited in the story, the disciplinary committee’s chair made the call to suspend Balogun’s ban on his own, something he had never done alone in any previously published FIFA disciplinary case. FIFA has not offered a public explanation for why the ban was lifted.
FairSquare’s complaint reportedly outlines five clear alleged breaches of the IOC’s political neutrality rules, along with what it calls preliminary evidence of two further serious breaches, one of which is the Balogun situation itself.
A Pattern Of Complaints Against Gianni Infantino And FIFA
This is not the first time FairSquare has raised these concerns. The group filed a similar complaint with FIFA’s own ethics committee back in December, and says it received acknowledgment that the complaint was received but has not heard anything further since.
The pressure on FIFA’s ethics committee to act has grown since then. The Norwegian football federation wrote to the committee last month asking it to formally consider FairSquare’s complaint, and fifty members of the European Parliament sent a letter on June 29 urging the same committee to address it.
What Comes Next For Infantino And FIFA
Both FIFA and the IOC have been contacted for comment, according to the report, though neither had issued a public response at the time of publication. The complaint adds another layer of controversy to a tournament that has already produced its share of contentious officiating and disciplinary storylines, including the appointment of referees for this week’s semifinals between England and Argentina.
With the World Cup heading into its final week, any IOC action against Infantino would land at one of the most high profile moments possible for FIFA, just days before the July 19 final at MetLife Stadium.
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