The International Olympic Committee is facing a formal complaint accusing FIFA president Gianni Infantino of repeatedly violating political neutrality rules through his public support of President Donald Trump.
The complaint was filed by FairSquare, a nonprofit advocacy organization, which is calling on the IOC to look into several alleged violations — including Infantino’s possible role in overturning a one-game suspension for U.S. men’s national team striker Folarin Balogun. That suspension had been set to keep Balogun out of the United States’ round of 16 contest against Belgium on July 6.
Infantino confirmed that he received a phone call from Trump, who had publicly pushed for Balogun to be allowed to play. However, the FIFA president maintained that he played no part in the actual decision-making process.
Balogun did ultimately take the field, but the U.S. was knocked out of the tournament with a 4-1 loss to Belgium. The suspension stemmed from a direct red card Balogun received in the 64th minute of a July 1 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, after he was called for a foul on player Tarik Muharemovic. The United States went on to win that game 2-0 despite playing with ten men, and Balogun was automatically suspended for the following match.
Under FIFA rules, red cards and the suspensions that follow cannot be appealed. Despite that, FIFA quietly posted a message on its website on July 5 offering no detailed explanation: “By operation of Article 27 FDC, the implementation of the automatic match suspension for USA player Folarin Balogun is suspended for a probationary period of one (1) year.”
Trump addressed the situation on the day of the Belgium match, saying he simply requested a review because he disagreed with the original call. “All I did was ask for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump said. “And, you know, again, I’m good at this stuff. I didn’t think it was a foul. I thought it was two great athletes that crashed into each other and got entangled.”
Trump continued: “I think they made a really brilliant decision. I think the referee’s call was horrible and nobody talks about that. They talk about the red card like it’s fine, nobody talks the referee’s decision to red card.”
In response, Infantino issued a statement through FIFA’s website asserting that the organization’s judicial committees operate independently. “Their independence is essential to the credibility and integrity of football, and this must always be respected,” the statement said.
FairSquare, however, is challenging that credibility. The group pointed out that Infantino has also been an IOC member since 2020 and is therefore bound by the Olympic Charter and the IOC Code of Ethics, both of which require strict political neutrality. The organization noted that the IOC has the authority to remove members who fail to meet those standards.
“As outlined in the FairSquare complaint, there is compelling evidence that Infantino has committed five clear breaches of IOC rules on political neutrality through statements or other clear expressions of support for the US President,” FairSquare wrote on its website.
Beyond the Balogun situation, the complaint identifies four other alleged violations. One involves Infantino promoting a FIFA fan website for the 2026 World Cup that FairSquare described as appearing to be “part of a data-harvesting campaign run by entities linked to President Trump.” Another centers on a supportive post Infantino made on Instagram after attending an event connected to Trump’s presidential inauguration in January 2025.
Additionally, Infantino publicly endorsed Trump for the Nobel Prize in October 2025 and made further supportive comments in November. In December, he presented Trump with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize at the World Cup draw held at the Kennedy Center.
FairSquare had previously filed a separate complaint with FIFA’s own ethics committee in December. That effort drew support from the Norwegian football federation, and 50 members of the European Parliament submitted their own letter on June 29 echoing similar concerns.
Neither the IOC nor FIFA responded to requests for comment from multiple news organizations.
