FIFA president Gianni Infantino
Noman Sabit: A complaint has been filed with the International Olympic Committee alleging FIFA president Gianni Infantino has breached regulations on political neutrality. It arrives with the World Cup semifinals looming and stems from his dealings with United States President Donald Trump regarding U.S. Men's National Team striker Folarin Balogun's red card ban being suspended at the World Cup. FairSquare, a human rights organization, claims Infantino – who became an IOC member in 2020 – has repeatedly violated the Olympic Charter and the IOC's code of ethics. The most recent episode concerns Balogun's one-match ban being suspended by FIFA's disciplinary committee, allowing him to participate in their World Cup Round of 16 defeat to Belgium.
This followed a phone call between President Trump and Infantino, with the Swiss official maintaining that FIFA's committees function entirely independently, via The Mirror. The Daily Mirror has contacted FIFA for a comment. The Times has reported that disciplinary committee chair Mohammad Al Kamali made the pivotal decision to overturn the suspension alone, despite never having been the sole decision-maker in any previously published disciplinary cases.
FIFA has offered no explanation as to why the suspension was overturned. FairSquare's complaint outlines five clear breaches of the IOC's rules on political neutrality, along with 'prima facie' evidence of two additional serious violations – including the handling of the Balogun matter. In December, FairSquare filed a similar complaint to FIFA's ethics committee. FairSquare confirmed it had received acknowledgement that its complaint had been received, but has heard nothing further.
Last month, the Norwegian football federation sent a letter to FIFA's ethics committee requesting it review FairSquare's complaint. On June 29, 50 members of the European Parliament also wrote to the same committee, pressing it to address FairSquare's grievance.
Balogun discussed the situation on CBS Mornings and acknowledged that Trump's involvement created a distraction for the USMNT. He said: "My initial reaction was that I was happy to be back in the team. But when I started to reflect, I knew it was going to cause a lot of controversy. "And I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves because it's something that is so unique. But the closer we got to the game, I tried to just focus as best as I could but it was difficult - a lot of outside noise and that's hard to avoid. "It was confusing because the team was practicing without me in the team, I'm almost just playing a supporting role to keep morale high."
The latest FIFA controversy is likely to work in UEFA's favor, as the European governing body seeks to put forward a candidate to challenge Infantino in the next FIFA presidential election, according to talkSPORT.
Infantino is pursuing a third term and had been anticipating an uncontested re-election, but momentum is building behind rival candidates within UEFA's ranks.
UEFA President Alexander Ceferin would be the most credible challenger to the FIFA chief, yet the Slovenian appears poised to remain in his current role at UEFA come next spring. Ceferin reportedly has little appetite to go head-to-head with Infantino, despite the two having butted heads on multiple occasions. Several UEFA federations, including Belgium and Poland, would rally behind Paris Saint-Germain President Nasser Al-Khelaifi running in the next election; however, it is reported that the EFC Chairman has no desire to put himself forward for the role.
It is understood that senior figures within Bosnian, Norwegian, Swedish, German, and Spanish football have held discussions over backing Legia owner Dariusz Mioduski - with support for him potentially gaining further traction.
Beyond UEFA, Concacaf president Victor Montagliani has also been floated as a potential successor to Infantino.
Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe is another figure who could throw his hat into the ring - and he has made no secret of his ambition to one day hold the FIFA presidency.
