The British human rights organization FairSquare accuses FIFA President Gianni Infantino of violating the world football association’s code of ethics because of his relationship with US President Donald Trump.
FairSquare sent a letter of complaint to the FIFA Ethics Committee on Monday following the widely criticized award of the new FIFA Peace Prize to Trump at the draw for next year’s World Cup.
Specifically, the organization, which deals, among other things, with sports policy and workers’ rights, accuses the Swiss Infantino of violating political neutrality. At the request of the German Press Agency, FairSquare confirmed the complaint submitted and referred to “four fractures” of FIFA rules by Infantino in recent months. Several media outlets had previously reported on the complaint.
Among other things, FairSquare refers to an Instagram post by Infantino on October 9th, in which the 55-year-old wrote in the wake of the Israel conflict: “President Donald J. Trump undoubtedly deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his decisive actions“.
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The organization cites the fourth article of the FIFA statutes, which states that the world association must remain politically neutral. “Exceptions may be made in matters relating to FIFA’s statutory objectives“, it continues there.
FIFA was asked to respond to the complaint. After the awarding of the Peace Prize and the closeness between Trump and Infantino met with massive criticism worldwide, the world association recently declared: “To host an event of the magnitude of the FIFA World Cup, it is absolutely essential to develop a collaborative relationship with the government authorities of the host countries“, said the world association in response to a dpa inquiry on Sunday. The “Bild” first reported on this reaction.
FIFA: Infantino must have good relations with heads of state
Infantino has been caring for him since the award “close relationships” to Trump and to the heads of state and government of the co-organizers Canada and Mexico, FIFA said. According to the statutes, the FIFA President makes an effort “to maintain and develop good relations between FIFA, the confederations, member associations, political bodies and international organizations”. Infantino must be president “good relationships” with the heads of state of the host countries to ensure a successful event.