Controversy over Trump’s Peace Prize heats up, is Infantino getting caught?

Infantino has been accused of violating FIFA's neutrality rules in four areas.

A storm has erupted around Gianni Infantino, the president of world football's governing body, FIFA, for awarding Trump the Peace Prize. He has been accused of clearly violating FIFA's rules on political neutrality. And the human rights organization Fairsquare has demanded an investigation into this allegation. Infantino's praise, supportive comments and giving honors to Trump - all of which have now heated up the controversy. As a result, the question arises, is Infantino getting 'caught' by awarding Trump?

According to the BBC, the human rights organization Fairsquare has complained that the 'FIFA Peace Prize' given to US President Donald Trump is a clear violation of the rules on remaining politically neutral. Infantino presented the award to Trump for the first time at the 2026 World Cup draw in Washington, DC last week. He has also posted on social media and given various interviews supporting Trump.

The complaint sent by Fairsquare states that Infantino violated FIFA's neutrality rules in four areas. The complaint states that "giving such an award to a current political leader is in itself a clear violation of FIFA's policy of political neutrality." It also states that "the FIFA president does not have the right to single-handedly determine the organization's goals, policies, directions or core values."

Infantino and Trump stood side by side at the stunning awards ceremony. The ceremony was organized as part of the preparations for the World Cup to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19 next year. At that event, Infantino presented Trump with a large gold-plated trophy, a medal and a certificate. “This is what we want from a leader,” he said at the event, and “You will always have my support, Mr. President.”

Earlier this October, Infantino wrote in a post on the social media platform Instagram that Trump “deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.” Later, in an interview given at the American Business Forum in Miami last November, he said, “We should all support what Trump is doing (in the United States) because I think it is being done very well.”

Fairsquare also alleged that Infantino posted a video on Instagram in January of this year after receiving an invitation to Trump’s inauguration. There, too, he indicated his support for Trump’s political positions.

Fairsquare’s program director Nicholas McGeehan said, “This allegation is not just about Infantino’s support for Trump’s political agenda. More importantly, FIFA's unrealistic governance system allows Infantino to operate in a way that violates the organization's rules, which is dangerous and against the interests of the world's most popular sport.