IOC won’t pursue Infantino over FIFA red-card ruling at World Cup
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino, left, and President Donald Trump comment on the medals as they wait to congratulate the Spanish players after the World Cup final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry speaks during a press conference at the end of the first day of the 146th Session of the IOC at the SwissTech Convention Centre, in Lausanne, Switzerland, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (Cyril Zingaro/Keystone via AP)
GENEVA (AP) — International Olympic Committee (IOC) member and FIFA leader Gianni Infantino will not have to explain to the Olympic body how United States President Donald Trump helped to stop a player’s ban at the World Cup.
The IOC said on Friday it has no jurisdiction to investigate Infantino’s alleged lack of political neutrality.
A London-based NGO formally complained this month to the International Olympic Committee ethics commission about Infantino, including his part in ensuring United States forward Folarin Balogun did not serve a mandatory one-game ban despite being sent off in the previous game.
The IOC’s Olympic Charter cites neutrality among “fundamental principles of Olympism” for sports bodies like FIFA and its 100-plus members, which has included Infantino since 2020.
No formal investigation will be opened, the IOC said, because the complaint by rights group FairSquare did not relate to FIFA’s or Infantino’s specific relations with the Olympic body.
The complaint “refers only to (FIFA’s) decisions on its governance and its management, including its relations with government, and to (FIFA’s) implementation of the rules of its sport,” the IOC said in a statement.
“Consequently, the complaint falls outside the IOC ethics commission’s jurisdiction,” the statement said.
The ethics body does not have independent powers to start investigations and sanction officials, but can make recommendations to the IOC executive board chaired by President Kirsty Coventry.
She attended the World Cup final last Sunday at East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Action has been taken against just one IOC member in the past eight years for unethical conduct: Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah, a key power broker who built a reputation as the “kingmaker” of Olympic elections.
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