After the FIFA president appeared at the launch of Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ in Washington, IOC president Kirsty Coventry confirmed that the Olympic body will ‘investigate’ Infantino’s conduct.
At the launch of the Board of Peace hosted by Trump in Washington, DC, Infantino signed a partnership on behalf of FIFA that would allow up to $75 million in football-related funds to be invested in Gaza. With the World Cup quickly approaching, Infantino has made repeated visits to the White House and Trump’s winter palace, Mar-a-Lago.
“The Olympic Charter is very clear about what it expects from its members and we will be investigating the alleged signing of documents, I think,” Coventry said at her final press conference at the Cortina Winter Games in Milan. She added that she was not aware of Infantino being “front and center” at the event.
“Now that you’ve made us aware of it,” Coventry continued, “we’ll go back and take a look.”
Infantino was elected as an IOC member at the 135th IOC session in Lausanne in January 2020. He is one of 107 IOC members, all bound by an oath “to always act independently of… political interests.”
The IOC’s position is rooted in that neutrality, despite the fact that many of its members come from government positions. Its members include figures such as the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, and the US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud.
“I think from the IOC’s point of view we will remain politically neutral,” Coventry said. “That is the only way for us as an organization to ensure fairness on the playing field.”
In November, Miguel Maduro, former president of FIFA’s governing committee, accused Infantino of a “clear violation” of FIFA’s neutrality statutes after saying in Miami that “we must all support what he (Trump) is doing.” A month later, watchdog group FairSquare filed a formal complaint with FIFA’s Ethics Committee for “repeated violations” of that neutrality obligation.
FIFA will have a 12-team men’s U23 tournament at the 2028 Olympic Games, while the women’s tournament, one of the most important women’s national team tournaments on the international football calendar, will be expanded to 16 teams in 2028.
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