Infantino’s Trump ties trigger new IOC ethics test

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has been reported to the International Olympic Committee over alleged breaches of political neutrality, creating a fresh governance challenge around football’s most powerful executive during the 2026 World Cup.The complaint was submitted by advocacy group FairSquare to the IOC Ethics Commission on July 14. Infantino has been an elected IOC member since 2020 and is subject to the Olympic movement’s ethics rules alongside his FIFA responsibilities.FairSquare said: “There is compelling evidence that Infantino has committed five clear breaches of IOC rules on political neutrality through statements or other clear expressions of support for the US president.“If Gianni Infantino intervened in this affair at the behest of the US president, this would not only constitute a further serious breach of IOC rules on political neutrality, it would violate the fundamental principle of fair play.”The filing centres partly on the handling of United States forward Folarin Balogun’s automatic one-match suspension during the World Cup. FIFA converted the sanction into a suspended sentence after Trump said he had asked Infantino for the decision to be reviewed.Infantino acknowledged receiving a call from Trump but denied intervening in the disciplinary process. FIFA has maintained that its judicial bodies operate independently.Infantino said: “Their independence is essential to the credibility and integrity of football, and this must always be respected.”FairSquare has questioned whether political pressure influenced the ruling, which allowed Balogun to play in the United States’ round-of-16 defeat by Belgium. The complaint asks the IOC to examine the decision as part of its responsibility to protect sporting integrity.The organisation also cites Infantino’s public comments about Trump, his support for the president’s Nobel Peace Prize nomination and the presentation of FIFA’s inaugural Peace Prize to Trump in December 2025.FairSquare previously lodged a complaint with FIFA’s ethics committee over the peace prize. The Norwegian Football Federation supported that action, while around 50 members of the European Parliament later called for an investigation.The IOC complaint increases pressure on a governance system in which Infantino holds influential positions across both FIFA and the Olympic movement. Any formal investigation would test how the IOC applies political neutrality requirements to the head of a major international sports federation.Neither the IOC nor FIFA had publicly responded to the latest complaint at the time of reporting. The filing remains an allegation and no finding of wrongdoing has been made against Infantino.