US tax complaint targets FIFA over alleged use of resources for Infantino’s Miami household

FIFA president Gianni Infantino is facing a formal complaint to the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over allegations that a Nicaraguan domestic worker at his Miami home was paid through an entity linked to football’s world governing body.

The complaint claims the worker’s duties were exclusively for Infantino and his family, despite her salary being covered by a FIFA-related organisation.

According to The Guardian, which has seen the document, immigration lawyer Abed Ayoub – a former executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee – accused FIFA’s senior leadership of misusing the organisation’s tax-exempt status to fund private household services for its president.

The complaint states that the employee “performed household duties exclusively for Gianni Infantino and his wife Lina at their Miami residence, while receiving compensation or benefits through a FIFA-affiliated entity”.

It adds that using an organisation’s resources for personal benefit raises “serious questions regarding private benefit rules, governance and financial disclosure”. If wrongdoing were established, FIFA could risk losing its tax-exempt status in the United States, the complaint alleges.

The issue follows reports by The New York Post and The Telegraph on 3 November about 33-year-old Yagarlin del Socorro Fernandez, who worked for the Infantino family in a luxury residential tower in Miami.

An internal document dated 7 January 2026 says Fernandez was employed full-time from 1 August 2024 until 31 October 2025.

She continued working after the administration of United States president Donald Trump cancelled the humanitarian programme under which she had been covered during 2025. That left a period during which her immigration status was irregular.

The reports also alleged that Infantino asked his American adviser, Carlos Cordeiro, to help secure an exceptional C11 work permit for Fernandez. Cordeiro is a prominent member of the White House task force for the 2026 World Cup. The permit was granted in January 2026.

FIFA rejects allegations

FIFA dismissed the accusations in their entirety. A spokesperson said: “Matters relating to the personal and domestic life of the FIFA president are private, but to dispel any doubt, the costs of any domestic employees are borne personally by the president.”

The organisation also rejected suggestions that people had been employed without the necessary legal permits, saying some parties were attempting to destabilise FIFA and repeatedly target its president.

Questions over Miami airport assistance

The allegations concerning FIFA resources extend beyond the domestic worker. French newspaper L’Equipe reported that Infantino’s family had received special protocol services at Miami International Airport.

Documents seen by the newspaper reportedly detail expedited passage through procedures, coordination with airlines and assistance from federal authorities – arrangements normally reserved for official visits.

The records indicate that members of Infantino’s family used the services on 73 occasions between January 2024 and October 2026, amounting to 125 individual instances.

Infantino was absent for about half of those occasions. His wife Lina was named in 46 cases, including 37 when her husband was not present, while his daughters each used the arrangements about 20 times.

Infantino himself appeared in the records 24 times: 16 in 2024, seven in 2025 and once in 2026. No further use by him has been recorded since March.

A former FIFA official, speaking anonymously to L’Equipe because of fears of retaliation, claimed Infantino treated FIFA as if it were his private organisation and repeatedly used its resources for personal purposes.