Read for 2 minutesUpdated: 24 July 2026 11:34 PM IST
International Olympic Committee (IOC) FIFA President Gianni Infantino will not be questioned over his role in overturning the suspension of an American athlete after US President Donald Trump received a red card in a previous match, the Olympic body said. The IOC said decisions made during the World Cup were outside its jurisdiction and therefore could not investigate Infantino’s alleged lack of political neutrality.
The statement comes after a London-based NGO formally complained to the IOC Ethics Commission about Infantino. United States forward Folarin Balogun was red carded in the Round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, the mandatory one-game ban was later lifted by FIFA. Minutes after FIFA announced the decision, reports surfaced that Trump had influenced the decision. Trump later admitted to a phone conversation with Infantino to allow Balogun to play in the USA’s round of 16 match against Belgium, which they lost 4–1.
The IOC’s Olympic Charter mentions neutrality as a “fundamental principle of the Olympics” for sports bodies such as FIFA and its more than 100 members, including Infantino from 2020.
No formal inquiry will be opened, the IOC said, because the complaint by the rights group FairSquare is not related to FIFA or Infantino’s specific relationship with the Olympic organization.
The complaint refers “solely to decisions on (FIFA’s) governance and management, including relations with governments and (FIFA’s) enforcement of its rules of the game,” the IOC said in a statement.
“Consequently, the complaint falls outside the jurisdiction of the IOC Ethics Commission,” the statement said.
The ethics body does not have independent powers to launch investigations and sanction officials, but can make recommendations to the IOC executive board, chaired by president Kirsty Coventry. She competed in the World Cup finals last Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
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Only one IOC member has been prosecuted for unethical behavior in the past eight years: Sheikh Ahmed al-Fahad al-Sabah, a prominent power broker who built a reputation as the “kingmaker” of Olympic elections.
(with agency input)