The International Olympic Committee ruled it has no jurisdiction to investigate FIFA President Gianni Infantino following a complaint by human rights group FairSquare accusing him of breaching the IOC's political neutrality rules amid Donald Trump’s intervention in a red card suspension at the 2026 World Cup [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
FairSquare alleged Infantino repeatedly expressed political support for former US President Trump, violating IOC standards for neutrality [1, 2, 4, 5]. Trump admitted calling Infantino shortly after US striker Folarin Balogun received a red card in the round of 32, urging review of the decision. He said, "All I did was, I asked for a review, because I didn’t think it was a foul. And again, I’m good at this stuff. I didn’t think it was a foul. I thought it was two great athletes who crashed into each other and got entangled" [1, 2, 4, 5].
Following Trump's call, FIFA suspended Balogun’s automatic one-match ban for 12 months, allowing him to play in the last-16 match against Belgium. The US lost that match 4-1 despite Balogun's participation [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
The IOC Ethics Commission said the complaint concerns FIFA's governance and sport-specific rules, which are outside the scope of the IOC Code of Ethics. An IOC spokesperson said, "The commission noted that the current complaint, including with regard to the FIFA president, refers only to the IF's decisions on its governance and its management, including its relations with government, and to the IF's implementation of the rules of its sport, which are both outside the scope of application of the IOC Code of Ethics. The complaint falls outside the IOC Ethics Commission’s jurisdiction" [2].
Infantino, an IOC member since 2020, faced scrutiny after appearing with Trump at the World Cup final trophy presentation, where they were booed by the crowd [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. FIFA awarded Trump its inaugural Peace Prize in December 2025, a controversial move that added to tension [2, 4].
The Norwegian Football Federation expressed "strong concern" over Balogun’s red card suspension being deferred and is considering filing a formal complaint with FIFA's ethics committee. Federation president Lise Klaveness said a decision would be made at the next board meeting [1].
FairSquare has also lodged a similar complaint with FIFA's ethics committee alleging Infantino’s public support for Trump [2, 3].
The IOC announced its rejection of the complaint between July 24 and 25, 2026, citing lack of jurisdiction [1, 2, 3, 4]. The Norwegian Football Federation’s pending decision on a formal complaint remains the next significant development in the matter.
