A rights advocacy group says more than 100,000 people have backed a formal complaint calling on Fifa to open an investigation into president Gianni Infantino over his relationship with US President Donald Trump, amid allegations that he breached the governing body's ethics code.
The complaint was filed by FairSquare as part of its "Reboot Fifa" campaign, which sent a letter to Fifa's Ethics Committee accusing Infantino of a series of violations. Among the claims are abuse of power, failure to uphold political neutrality, and breaches of loyalty obligations, with the organisation alleging Infantino acted to curry favor with Trump.
Nicholas McGeehan, a director at FairSquare, said the latest submission builds on an earlier complaint filed in December 2025 and reflects fresh concerns that emerged during and after the World Cup, which wrapped up in July.
Among the central issues raised is Trump's direct intervention during the World Cup, when he reportedly contacted Infantino to push for a reconsideration of the red card issued to US forward Folarin Balogun. That suspension was ultimately lifted. FairSquare also points to Infantino's now-abandoned effort to sell a stake in Fifa's commercial events to private equity investors as another point of concern.
"The allegations are a lot more serious," McGeehan said. "We now have this public and political concern and we felt it was time to again put pressure on the Fifa Ethics Committee and really lay down the gauntlet to them. Are you capable of holding your senior officials to account? That's what we're trying to do with this follow-up."
The push comes after the International Olympic Committee in July rejected a separate FairSquare complaint concerning Infantino's public backing of Trump, ruling that the matter fell outside the remit of its own ethics body.
According to FairSquare, Fifa's Ethics Committee acknowledged receiving the original complaint on December 12 of last year but has since given no further response or update.
The new filing outlines eight distinct incidents in which Infantino allegedly compromised Fifa's political neutrality, including his endorsement of one of Trump's political slogans and agenda items. It further claims he exceeded his authority by creating the Fifa Peace Prize on his own initiative, without securing approval from the Fifa Council, in order to present the award to Trump.
The complaint also accuses Infantino of misusing his position by privately advancing the Fifa Forward Enterprise plan in coordination with politically connected investors — a scheme that was ultimately scrapped after widespread public backlash.
FairSquare is calling for Infantino to be handed a two-year suspension from all football-related activity.
"But this complaint is about a lot more than Infantino," McGeehan said. "Really, for us, it's about demonstrating to the policymakers who should be scrutinising Fifa's conduct and its governance that the organization is incapable of regulating itself."
The timing of the complaint is notable given that Infantino is campaigning for a fourth term as Fifa president, with elections scheduled for March and no significant challenger currently in the race. He has shown no sign of stepping back despite the renewed scrutiny of his leadership.
Separately, FairSquare last month urged Fifa to declare Infantino ineligible for re-election altogether, arguing he has already completed the maximum three terms permitted under the organization's statutes. Infantino and his supporters have previously countered that his first term, which began in 2016 after Sepp Blatter's resignation, should not count toward that limit since it was merely finishing an interrupted mandate — an argument Fifa accepted in 2022.
Fifa has been approached for comment on the latest complaint.
Based on reporting from The Independent.