The International Olympic Committee has refused to investigate Gianni Infantino, ruling that a complaint against the Fifa president over his ties to Donald Trump falls outside its ethics commission’s jurisdiction.
Human rights campaign group FairSquare had accused Infantino of a “repeated breach of political neutrality rules” by failing to adhere to the Olympic charter through “statements or other clear expressions of support for the US president”. The group previously lodged a similar complaint with Fifa’s ethics committee last year, which was also dismissed.
“IOC rejects complaint against Infantino over Trump ties; Balogun ban suspension controversy continues.”
But the IOC said the matter was “outside the scope of application of the IOC code of ethics”, adding: “The current complaint, with regard to the Fifa president, refers only to the international federation’s decisions on its governance and its management, including its relations with government, and to the international federation’s implementation of the rules of its sport.”
The controversy erupted during the World Cup after Trump admitted he had called Infantino to ask him to review a red card given to US striker Folarin Balogun. The forward had been sent off in a 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina and was expected to miss the last-16 tie against Belgium. However, after the intervention – which also involved Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House’s World Cup task force – the automatic one-match ban was suspended for 12 months. No reason was given beyond citing a rule that allows punishments to be suspended. Balogun started the match, which Belgium won 4-1.
Trump later celebrated the decision on Truth Social, writing: “Thank you to Fifa for doing what was right and reversing a great injustice.” Fifa insisted Infantino had no role in the suspension process.
FairSquare had highlighted a photo of Infantino alongside Trump during the tournament, and boos echoed around New York New Jersey Stadium as the pair walked onto the pitch for the World Cup trophy presentation.
The Norwegian Football Federation, which had already filed a complaint about Fifa’s first Peace Prize being awarded to Trump, said it was considering a formal complaint to Fifa’s ethics committee over the Balogun decision. NFF president Lise Klaveness said the federation had reacted with “strong concern” and a decision would be made at its next board meeting.
Infantino has been a member of the IOC since 2020.