The Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, has been accused of breaching his organisation’s rules on political neutrality in relation to the US president, Donald Trump.
Infantino and Trump have formed a close bond in recent years, with the US one of the co-hosts for the men’s World Cup next year. Infantino even presented Trump with the inaugural Fifa peace prize at the World Cup draw in Washington DC last Friday.
FairSquare, a group which seeks to promote greater accountability in sport, has written a letter of complaint to Fifa’s ethics committee alleging comments made by Infantino about Trump – and the process followed to award him the peace prize – were in breach of Fifa rules. In October, Infantino used his Instagram account to say Trump “definitely deserves” the Nobel Peace Prize.
After a video about Trump was played at the draw before he received the Fifa peace prize, Infantino remarked: “This is what we want from a leader … you definitely deserve the first Fifa peace prize for your action for what you have obtained in your way but you obtained it in an incredible way and you can always count, Mr President, on my support.”
Infantino said in a November interview at the American Business Forum in Miami that “we should all support what [Trump] is doing [in the US] because I think it’s looking pretty good”.
FairSquare’s letter, first reported by the Athletic and seen by PA Media, also referenced an Instagram post from Infantino on 20 January, the day of Trump’s inauguration. “Together we will make not only America great again, but also the entire world,” Infantino said at the conclusion of a video message.
FairSquare also called on the Fifa ethics committee to investigate how Trump came to be awarded the Fifa peace prize. “The award of a prize of this nature to a sitting political leader is in and of itself a clear breach of Fifa’s duty of neutrality,” the FairSquare letter stated.
FairSquare said that based on Fifa’s own statutes, the decision to introduce such a prize should have been taken by the Fifa Council. “The Fifa president does not have the authority to unilaterally dictate the organisation’s mission, strategic direction, policies and values,” the letter stated.
Nicholas McGeehan, FairSquare’s programme director, said: “This complaint is about a lot more than Infantino’s support for President Donald Trump’s political agenda.
“More broadly this is about how Fifa’s absurd governance structure has allowed Gianni Infantino to openly flout the organisation’s rules and act in ways that are both dangerous and directly contrary to the interests of the world’s most popular sport.”
Fifa has been approached for comment.
