Prateek Tanmay
2 min readUpdated: Jul 24, 2026 11:34 PM IST
FIFA president Gianni Infantino won’t be investigated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for US President Donald Trump’s role in overturning the suspension of an American player after he had received a red card in the previous match, the Olympic body has said. The IOC said that decisions made during the World Cup was beyond its jurisdiction and it hence cannot investigate Infantino’s alleged lack of political neutrality.
The statement comes after a complaint was made by a London-based NGO formally complained to the IOC ethics commission about Infantino. United States forward Folarin Balogun had been handed a red card in their round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, the mandatory one-game ban was then overturned by FIFA. In the minutes after FIFA announced the decision, reports emerged of Trump having influenced the decision. Trump later admitted to having a conversation with Infantino over telephone to allow Balogun to play in USA’s round of 16 fixture against Belgium, which they lost 4-1.
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.
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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.
(With agency inputs)
