Complaint lodged against FIFA’s Gianni Infantino ahead of World Cup semi-final

The 2026 World Cup semi-finals are supposed to be about football. Instead, the headlines are about FIFA’s president and a formal complaint that just landed on the International Olympic Committee’s desk.

FairSquare, a human rights organization, filed the complaint with the IOC on July 14, 2026, accusing Gianni Infantino of repeatedly breaching political neutrality rules.

What’s in the complaint

The core allegation centers on Infantino’s relationship with former US President Donald Trump. In December 2025, Infantino awarded Trump FIFA’s inaugural Peace Prize, a decision that raised eyebrows across the sporting world and beyond.

Trump allegedly contacted Infantino directly regarding a player suspension being handled by FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee. The implication: a former head of state was attempting to influence an independent judicial process within global football’s governing body.

This isn’t the first time FairSquare has raised concerns. The organization previously lodged a complaint with FIFA’s own Ethics Committee. Filing with the IOC represents a significant escalation, essentially going over FIFA’s head to the broader international sports governance structure.

The recent intensification of scrutiny was triggered by a financial disclosure by Trump on July 1, 2026, which unveiled that tickets were provided by Infantino, prompting more European lawmakers to call for investigations into potential neutrality violations.

The political pressure is building

FairSquare isn’t alone in its concerns. Fifty members of the European Parliament have urged FIFA to investigate Infantino’s actions.

Infantino, for his part, has pushed back. He’s emphasized that FIFA maintains independent judicial processes and that conversations with heads of state are routine for someone in his position.

Why this matters beyond football

FIFA is a multi-billion-dollar organization that controls the commercial rights to the world’s most-watched sporting event. The 2026 World Cup, hosted across the US, Canada, and Mexico, represents one of the largest commercial sporting ventures in history.

The European Parliament’s involvement adds another layer. EU lawmakers have become increasingly aggressive on both sports governance and digital asset regulation simultaneously. The same political bodies pushing for FIFA accountability are the ones shaping MiCA implementation and broader financial oversight frameworks.

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