President Trump arrives ahead of the first FIFA Peace Prize presentation
“We don’t need prizes. We need to save lives,” President Donald Trump told reporters as he arrived ahead of the FIFA World Cup draw.
An international human rights organization has filed a complaint with the world football governing body’s ethics committee, calling for an investigation into FIFA president Gianni Infantino for possible violations of political neutrality.
London-based FairSquare filed an eight-page complaint with FIFA’s Ethics Committee over the organization’s decision to award the inaugural Peace Prize to President Donald Trump, claiming it “advances institutional change and stops human rights abuses”, a decision that was quickly condemned.
“The awarding of such an award to a sitting political leader is itself a clear violation of FIFA’s duty of neutrality,” FairSquare said in its complaint.
“If Mr. Infantino acted unilaterally without any legal authority, this should be considered a gross abuse of power.”
FIFA’s ethical bylaws require neutrality in all political matters, and breaches can result in a two-year ban from the competition.
Mr. Infantino and Mr. Trump were gathered at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., for the World Cup drawing. The 2026 tournament, to be held in North America, will begin on June 11th.
FairSquare also said Infantino’s attendance at Trump’s inauguration in January “demonstrates support for President Trump’s political policies.”
“This complaint goes far beyond Mr. Infantino’s support for President Donald Trump’s political agenda,” said Nicholas McGeehan, FairSquare’s program director.
“More broadly, this means that FIFA’s absurd governance structure has allowed Gianni Infantino to openly disregard the organization’s rules and conduct actions that are dangerous and directly against the interests of the world’s most popular sport.”
