By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
It has been reported that complaints alleging that Gianni Infantino, the President of FIFA, has infringed rules on political neutrality in his dealings with Donald Trump, the President of the United States, have been submitted to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Paragraph 5 of the Fundamental Principles of Olympism, as set out in the Olympic Charter, provides that “sports organisations within the Olympic Movement shall apply neutrality at all times.”
Also, Article 4 of the FIFA Statutes provides that FIFA “shall remain neutral in political matters.”
The Sports Human Rights Group, ‘FairSquare’, alleges that Infantino, who became a member of the IOC in 2020, has repeatedly breached the Olympic Charter and the IOC Code of Ethics, including his recent handling of the Folarin Balogun suspension of his one-match ban, thereby allowing the United States striker to play in their World Cup last-16 match against Belgium. That suspension was the result of a phone call from President Trump to Infantino, requesting him to intervene.
It appears that FIFA has not offered any explanation of why the ban was suspended.
Other breaches alleged by ‘FairSquare’ include the award by Infantino of the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to Trump on 5 December 2026, as well as Infantino’s expressed offers of political support to Trump.
Sanctions for breaches of the IOC Code of Ethics range from formal warnings to permanent expulsion from the IOC.
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘