FIFA President Gianni Infantino faces IOC accusation for links with Donald Trump at the World Cup

The president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, was the target of a formal complaint at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) this Tuesday, July 14, 2026. The accusation alleges that he disrespected the rules of political neutrality due to his interactions with the then president of the United States, Donald Trump.

FairSquare, a non-profit organization dedicated to human rights, was responsible for the complaint. According to the entity, Infantino, who has been a member of the IOC since 2020, had repeatedly violated the Olympic Charter and the institution’s code of ethics, notably in his management of the case involving the player Folarin Balogun.

The complaint mentions the lifting of the one-game suspension imposed on United States striker Folarin Balogun. This decision, taken by FIFA’s disciplinary committee, allowed the athlete to play in the World Cup round of 16 match against Belgium. The revocation of the punishment, which occurred after a phone call from Donald Trump to Infantino, raises questions, although the FIFA president asserts the total independence of his committees.

The revelation of this new complaint comes amid a growing movement, where dozens of European parliamentarians are seeking support to launch an investigation against the FIFA president in the European Parliament.

The International Olympic Committee highlights neutrality as one of the pillars of Olympism, a fundamental principle that should guide sporting entities such as FIFA. The IOC has authority over Infantino, as he became one of more than a hundred invited members of the organization in 2020.

Information obtained indicates that Mohammad Al Kamali, chairman of the disciplinary committee, was the one who unilaterally made the crucial decision to suspend Balogun’s punishment. This action is considered atypical, as he had never been the sole arbitrator in any previously publicized disciplinary case.

The complaint presented by FairSquare to the IOC Ethics Commission lists five alleged clear violations of the entity’s political neutrality rules, in addition to presenting preliminary evidence of two other serious infractions, one of which refers to the management of the Balogun case.

In a statement, FairSquare stated that “Gianni Infantino has repeatedly violated the IOC’s political neutrality rules by offering his political support to United States President Donald Trump.”

FairSquare detailed that the evidence collected suggests that the leader committed five explicit violations of the IOC’s political neutrality rules, through demonstrations of support for the then US president. Furthermore, the organization presented evidence of two other serious violations, requesting the IOC to investigate. One of them refers to Trump’s possible giving in to political pressure to change FIFA’s disciplinary rules during the 2026 Men’s World Cup, while the other involves Infantino’s promotion of a FIFA fans’ website that was allegedly part of a data collection campaign linked to Trump entities.

It is worth mentioning that FairSquare had already filed a similar complaint with FIFA’s ethics committee last December. Although the organization confirmed receipt of the complaint, no additional information was provided regarding the progress of the case.

The Norwegian football federation also spoke out, sending a letter to FIFA’s ethics committee the previous month, asking for an analysis of FairSquare’s complaint. In addition, fifty members of the European Parliament addressed a similar request to the same committee on June 29, requesting the investigation.