The IOC will not investigate Gianni Infantino over allegations that the FIFA President breached Olympic rules on political neutrality when dealing with US President Donald Trump.
Human rights group FairSquare said they had submitted a complaint to the IOC about Infantino, citing the rescission of Folarian Balogun’s red card after Trump asked Infantino to review it.
Infantino is an IOC member, but a spokesman for the group explained that due to the complaint being focused on FIFA decisions, its ethics commission did not have grounds to investigate.
A spokesman said: “The IOC ethics commission thoroughly analysed the complaint by FairSquare.
“The commission noticed that, pursuant to the Olympic Charter, each international federation (IF) maintains its independence and autonomy in its governance.
“The IOC Code of Ethics’ scope of application vis-a-vis the international federations and their officials is specifically limited to their relations with the IOC.
“The IOC ethics commission noted that the current complaint, including with regard to the FIFA president, refers only to the IF’s decisions on its governance and its management, including its relations with Government, and to the IF’s implementation of the rules of its sport, which are both outside the scope of application of the IOC code of ethics.
“Consequently, the complaint falls outside the IOC ethics commission’s jurisdiction. FairSquare has been informed accordingly.
The IOC will not investigate Gianni Infantino over political neutrality with Donald Trump
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PA
“Separately from this complaint, as reaffirmed at the recent IOC Session, the IOC will continue its efforts to strengthen good governance across the Olympic Movement and to promote greater clarity regarding the respective roles, responsibilities and accountability of its constituent organisations.”
Infantino was in attendance for the World Cup final with Trump, who came out to boos when stepping out onto the MetLife Stadium.
The US President was full of praise for the event following its conclusion on Sunday, describing it as a “spectacular success”.
Trump wrote on social media: “I want to thank all of those involved but, in particular, our great law enforcement.
The complaint references Folarin Balogun being sent off
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“The respect that everyone has for them, together with their love of our country, kept this great championship the safest and most spectacular World Cup in history, by far!
“Thank you also to all others involved and, in particular, to young and dynamic Andrew Giuliani, working for the Government of the United States of America, and the fantastic president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, on a job well done!
“Few people will ever be able to accomplish what he has done in elevating the World Cup to a level that nobody thought was possible.”
Trump described the World Cup as a ‘spectacular success’
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The next World Cup, set to be hosted across half a dozen countries, could be expanded to 64 teams.
This year’s tournament was upped to 48 teams for the first time, which led to some confusion for qualification from the group stages due to the complexity of the best third-place team.
A 64-team tournament would eliminate this and has been backed by many high-profile sporting figures, with Infantino not ruling out the possibility.
