FIFA President Gianni Infantino could face scrutiny from the International Olympic Committee after human rights group FairSquare announced Wednesday that it will file a complaint accusing him of violating the IOC's political neutrality rules through his public support for U.S. President Donald Trump.
FairSquare said it will submit the complaint to the IOC, alleging Infantino has repeatedly breached the organization's political neutrality standards.
The move escalates an ongoing dispute between the rights group and FIFA, where it has already challenged the handling of ethics complaints involving the FIFA president.
Infantino has served as an IOC member since 2020.
FairSquare filed a complaint with FIFA's Ethics Committee in December 2025, citing multiple instances in which Infantino "expressed his public support for the actions and policies" of Trump.
"It also requests that the Ethics Committee investigate Mr. Infantino's role in the decision to introduce a FIFA Peace Prize, the decision to award it to President Trump ... and the conformity of these processes with FIFA's procedural rules," FairSquare said.
Reuters has contacted FIFA for comment.
FairSquare's complaint alleges Infantino breached Article 15 of the FIFA Code of Ethics, which covers the duty of neutrality.
People bound by the code must remain politically neutral in official dealings. Violations are punishable by a fine of at least 10,000 Swiss francs ($12,378) and up to a two-year ban from all football-related activities.
The complaint also requests that the Ethics Committee investigate whether the decisions to introduce an annual Peace Prize and award it to Trump at the World Cup draw were made by the FIFA Council or unilaterally by Infantino.
"If Mr. Infantino acted unilaterally and without any statutory authority, this should be considered an egregious abuse of power," FairSquare said.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry said Tuesday that no complaint had been received for consideration by the ethics commission but added: "Obviously, if they do, they would look into it."
While FIFA's Secretariat of the Investigatory Chamber acknowledged receiving the complaint in December, the global soccer body has given "no indication" that an investigation has begun, FairSquare said.
In a letter seen by Reuters, FIFA told FairSquare that its secretariat may initiate preliminary investigations into a "potential breach of the FIFA Code of Ethics" on the instructions of the chairperson of the Investigatory Chamber.
However, filing a complaint does not guarantee that ethics proceedings will be opened. Complainants are not parties to the proceedings and receive no updates or additional information because of confidentiality rules.
FairSquare launched a public campaign calling for sweeping reform of FIFA, titled "Reboot," a week before the World Cup kicked off.
Last week, FairSquare said 50 members of the European Parliament wrote to FIFA's Ethics Committee expressing support for the complaint against Infantino.
The Norwegian Football Federation also formally backed the complaint, asking the committee to determine whether Infantino violated FIFA's statutes on political neutrality through the award of the Peace Prize and related actions.
More recently at the World Cup, FIFA suspended American striker Folarin Balogun's red-card ban and cleared him to play in the Round of 16 against Belgium, which the United States lost 4-1, after Trump personally urged Infantino to review the case.
However, Infantino denied being involved in the final decision.
