Rights group Fair Square accused world soccer’s governing body of “blatantly flouting” its own rules on political neutrality.
Published December 10, 2025
FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s glowing praise of Donald Trump and the world soccer governing body’s decision to award the US president the Peace Prize have prompted formal charges of ethics violations and political neutrality.
Human rights group Fair Square said on Tuesday it had filed a complaint with FIFA’s Ethics Committee, saying the group’s actions were contrary to the common interests of the global football community.
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The complaint stems from Mr. Infantino awarding Mr. Trump FIFA’s inaugural Peace Prize during the Dec. 6 draw for the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico in June and July.
“This complaint goes beyond Infantino’s support for President Donald Trump’s political agenda,” said Nicholas McGeehan, FairSquare’s program director.
“More broadly, this is about how FIFA’s absurd governance structure allowed Gianni Infantino to blatantly ignore the organization’s rules and take actions that are dangerous and directly against the interests of the world’s most popular sport,” said McGeehan, president of the London-based advocacy group.
An eight-page complaint filed by rights groups with FIFA on Monday said Infantino’s “awarding of the Peace Prize to a sitting political leader is itself a clear violation of FIFA’s neutrality obligations.”
“If Mr. Infantino acted unilaterally without any legal authority, this should be considered a gross abuse of power,” the rights group said.
FairSquare also noted that Infantino lobbied on social media earlier this year for President Trump to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the Israel-Gaza conflict. In the end, the award went to Maria Colina Machado of Venezuela.
Fair Square said it hoped FIFA’s independent committee would review Infantino’s actions.
New York-based Human Rights Watch also criticized FIFA’s awarding of the award to Trump, saying the administration’s “astonishing human rights record certainly does not demonstrate exceptional action toward peace and unity.”
Disciplinary actions by the FIFA Ethics Committee may include warnings, reprimands, and even fines. They can also order compliance training and ban them from participating in football-related activities. However, it remains unclear whether the Ethics Commission will take up the complaint.
Infantino did not immediately respond, and FIFA said it does not comment on potential cases.
The current FIFA-appointed ethics investigators and judges are seen by some observers as being less independent than their predecessors a decade ago, when then-FIFA president Sepp Blatter was sacked.
President Trump attended the 2026 World Cup drawing ceremony on Friday, along with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
But it was President Trump who stole the show at the event at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
During the event, Infantino presented Trump with a gold trophy, a gold medal and a certificate.
“This is your prize, this is the prize of peace,” Infantino told Trump.
FIFA also aired a video touching on some of President Trump’s efforts toward a so-called peace deal.
