With the Reboot FIFA campaign, FairSquare increases pressure on Infantino over political neutrality
The organization FairSquare has launched the Reboot FIFA campaign to increase public and political pressure for reform of the world football federation, and the campaign's first step is aimed at FIFA President Gianni Infantino. According to FairSquare's announcement, the public has been enabled to join an updated ethics complaint that accuses Infantino of repeated and serious violations of FIFA's rules on political neutrality. The organization announces that it will submit the amended complaint to the Investigatory Chamber of the FIFA Ethics Committee after the end of the 2026 World Cup, with the ambition that it become the largest single complaint FIFA has ever received against the conduct of its senior officials.
The case is developing at a sensitive moment for FIFA because the 2026 World Cup, according to FIFA's official schedule, is taking place from 11 June to 19 July in Canada, Mexico and the United States of America. The tournament is being held for the first time with 48 national teams and three host countries. FairSquare argues that precisely such a global event shows why issues of transparency, political neutrality and accountability within FIFA have consequences beyond the administrative structures of sport. According to the organization, the dispute over Infantino's public appearances is not an isolated incident, but a symptom of a broader governance model in which too many decisions are concentrated in the hands of a narrow circle of people.
The December complaint and the new public campaign
FairSquare filed the original complaint against Infantino on 8 December 2025, a few days after the draw for the final stage of the 2026 World Cup in Washington. According to FairSquare, the complaint concerns four alleged violations of Article 15 of the FIFA Code of Ethics, which requires football officials to maintain political neutrality in relations with government institutions, national and international organizations, associations and other groups. The organization claims that Infantino, in several public appearances, expressed support for the actions and political goals of U.S. President Donald Trump, citing as a central example the awarding of the first FIFA Peace Prize to the American president.
The updated complaint, which FairSquare is now opening for signature by the wider public, is conceived as the first visible intervention of the longer-term Reboot FIFA campaign. According to the campaign description, the goal is not only disciplinary proceedings against one official, but pressure for structural changes in the organization that governs the world's most popular sport. FairSquare states that a reformed FIFA would need to have stricter audits of the distribution of development funds, a clearer separation of commercial business from regulatory and governance functions, and greater openness toward member associations, fans, the media and the public.
Why the FIFA Peace Prize is disputed
At the center of the dispute is the first FIFA Peace Prize, officially named the FIFA Peace Prize – Football Unites the World, which Infantino presented to Donald Trump on 5 December 2025 during the final draw for the 2026 World Cup at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. In its official announcement, FIFA stated that Trump received the inaugural award because of, as the organization formulated it, efforts to promote peace, and it also emphasized that the award would be presented every year. In the same announcement, FIFA stated that the American president had hosted the leaders of DR Congo and Rwanda in Washington the previous day for the signing of a peace agreement and that he had played a role in efforts to secure a ceasefire and promote peace between Israel and Palestine.
FairSquare does not dispute that FIFA, as the organizer of the World Cup, must maintain relations with the governments of host countries. In the complaint, however, it argues that such relations must remain within the bounds of political neutrality and institutional necessity. According to FairSquare's interpretation, awarding a peace prize to a current political leader carries political weight in itself, especially when it comes from the president of an organization that commits itself to neutrality in its own rules. The Associated Press reported that FIFA's Code of Ethics provided for a possible ban from football activities for up to two years for a breach of the duty of neutrality, although even then it was unclear whether the matter would be taken up in formal proceedings at all.
The official FIFA Code of Ethics, in Article 15, stipulates that persons bound by the code, in relations with government institutions and other organizations, must remain politically neutral and act in accordance with the function and integrity of their office. The same article provides for a fine of at least 10,000 Swiss francs and a ban on taking part in football-related activities for up to two years. The code also states in Article 11 that repeated violations may be considered an aggravating circumstance. For that reason, FairSquare considers important not only the question of the award itself, but also the pattern of public statements that, according to the organization, show a continuous departure from neutrality.
The four episodes cited by FairSquare
According to the summary of the complaint that FairSquare publicly released, the organization cites four episodes in which Infantino allegedly crossed the boundary of permitted contact with a political leader. The first concerns a video recording published on 20 January 2025, after Trump's inauguration rally in Washington, in which Infantino thanked the American president for the invitation and used wording that, according to FairSquare, can be interpreted as support for Trump's political slogan. The second episode concerns Infantino's post of 9 October 2025, when he publicly supported the idea that Trump should receive the Nobel Peace Prize because of activities connected with the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
The third allegation concerns Infantino's interview on 5 November 2025 at the American Business Forum in Miami, in which, according to FairSquare, he spoke about Trump's program and said that people should support what the American president is doing because it looks good. The fourth episode is linked to the awarding of the FIFA Peace Prize on 5 December 2025, when Infantino praised Trump's actions on stage and told him that he could count on his support. FairSquare argues that these statements, viewed together, represent clear support for the political program of the current American president, and not merely protocol cooperation with the World Cup host state.
In such cases, the boundary between sports diplomacy and a political message can be disputed, especially when it involves the president of an organization that depends on cooperation with host states, security services, local authorities and international partners. FIFA traditionally cooperates with governments in organizing major tournaments, but its rules simultaneously require distance from party and state politics. Critics therefore argue that publicly aligning with a particular political leader can undermine the trust of member associations, national teams and fans from countries that have different political interests or diplomatic relations with the host country. FairSquare's complaint seeks precisely to turn that issue from a political debate into an ethical and procedural test for FIFA.
Were FIFA bodies bypassed?
Another important part of the complaint concerns the way in which the FIFA Peace Prize was conceived and awarded. FairSquare is asking the Ethics Committee to examine whether Infantino had the authority to introduce such an award and decide on the first recipient, that is, whether the FIFA Council or other competent bodies were involved in the process. The organization refers to the statutory role of the FIFA Council, a 37-member body, in determining the organization's mission, strategic direction, policies and values. According to FairSquare, the official announcement in which FIFA announced the award did not clearly state that the Council had taken part in the decision.
Le Monde, referring to its own reporting, reported that fewer than ten FIFA employees were involved in developing the project and that Council members were not informed either before or after the ceremony in Washington. The newspaper also reported that around 50 members of the European Parliament, in a letter to FIFA, requested a swift and serious investigation into the circumstances of the award, including the possible bypassing of the Council. According to FairSquare, the letter by European lawmakers was led by Barry Andrews, Niels Fuglsang and Lara Wolters, and the signatories emphasized that FIFA must demonstrate commitment to neutrality, transparency and accountability. Such a political intervention does not mean that the allegations have been proven, but it increases pressure on the Ethics Committee to explain whether and how it will proceed.
For FIFA, the question of procedure is especially important because the organization has for years faced criticism over the concentration of power, lack of transparency and weak external oversight. If it were confirmed that the Council had no role in the decision on the award, that would open a broader question about the limits of presidential authority in matters that relate not only to protocol but also to the organization's representation of values. If, however, it is established that the competent bodies participated in the decision, FIFA would still have to explain the criteria for choosing the recipient, the mandate of the award and the way in which compliance with the neutrality rules was assessed. That is precisely why FairSquare insists that the matter is not only a question of one ceremony, but a test of the governance system.
Support from Norway and the European Parliament
FairSquare's initiative gained additional weight after the Norwegian Football Federation, according to FairSquare's publications and media reports, supported the ethics complaint against Infantino. Federation president Lise Klaveness asked FIFA to ensure proper handling of the complaint and public disclosure of the Ethics Committee's decision. The Norwegian federation had already previously been among the louder advocates of reforms in international football, especially on issues of human rights and the accountability of sports institutions. Its involvement is important because the criticism does not come only from a non-governmental organization, but also from a member of the football system that FIFA represents.
The letter from approximately 50 members of the European Parliament further expands the case beyond sports forums. According to Le Monde, the lawmakers asked the Ethics Committee for an investigation with the utmost speed and seriousness and emphasized that the World Cup is considered an event that should unite, not create an impression of political favoritism. FairSquare argues that this is the most significant intervention by European politicians in issues of world football governance since the debates that accompanied FIFA's crisis during the time of Sepp Blatter in 2015. At the same time, as of 5 July 2026, FIFA had not publicly offered a detailed response to all questions about the procedure for awarding the Peace Prize and the status of the complaint, according to available publications and media reports.
The Associated Press reported in December 2025 that FIFA's Ethics Committee does not comment on potential ongoing cases and that at that time it could not confirm receipt of the complaint. Such practice is not unusual for disciplinary bodies, but in this case it further fuels debate about how independent and transparent FIFA's ethics system is when the subject of the complaint is the president of the organization himself. FairSquare and its supporters believe that the public interest requires a visible process, while FIFA could argue that protecting the integrity of the process requires limited communication.
The broader stakes for world football
The Reboot FIFA campaign therefore goes beyond the issue of one award and one president. It builds on long-standing criticism that FIFA simultaneously acts as the commercial organizer of spectacular tournaments, the regulator of global football and a political actor that negotiates with governments on security, visas, infrastructure, tax arrangements and public investments. Such a combination of powers can create conflicts of interest, especially when decisions are made behind closed doors or when the public has no insight into the criteria. For that reason, FairSquare proposes a clearer separation of commercial and regulatory functions, stricter audits and greater accountability to the football community.
For Infantino, who has led FIFA since 2016, the case comes at a time when the organization is financially strong and globally visible, but also exposed to new questions about credibility. The 2026 World Cup is expected to be the largest in the history of the competition by number of national teams and matches, and FIFA presents it as a festival that connects continents, markets and fans. Precisely for that reason, critics believe that the organization's president must be especially careful in relation to political leaders, regardless of whether they are tournament hosts, organizational partners or important for security and logistical preparation. Political neutrality in that context is not an abstract rule, but a mechanism that protects trust that global football belongs equally to all member associations.
The outcome of FairSquare's complaint remains uncertain for now. If the Ethics Committee opens an investigation, the case could set a precedent on the limits of public political statements by the highest football officials. If the complaint is dismissed without explanation or remains without a public epilogue, the Reboot FIFA campaign will likely use that as an argument that the existing system cannot be effectively monitored from within. In either case, the debate over the FIFA Peace Prize and Infantino's relationship with Donald Trump has already outgrown the initial protocol event and become a test of the way the most powerful football institution interprets its own rules.
Sources:
- FairSquare – announcement on the launch of the Reboot FIFA campaign and the plan for an updated ethics complaint after the 2026 World Cup (link)
- FairSquare – summary of the original complaint against Gianni Infantino and allegations concerning Article 15 of the FIFA Code of Ethics (link)
- FIFA – official announcement on the awarding of the first FIFA Peace Prize – Football Unites the World to Donald Trump (link)
- FIFA – official Code of Ethics, 2023 edition, including provisions on political neutrality and sanctions (link)
- FIFA – official data on the 2026 World Cup, schedule, hosts and competition format (link)
- Associated Press – report on FairSquare's complaint, possible sanctions and FIFA's position on not commenting on potential proceedings (link)
- Le Monde – report on the letter from members of the European Parliament, the circumstances of the awarding of the Peace Prize and questions within FIFA (link)
- FairSquare – announcement on the support of 50 members of the European Parliament for the complaint against the FIFA president (link)