FIFA keeps Infantino-Trump award complaint under wraps after Norway appeal

FIFA’s ethics committee has rejected a request from the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) for updates on a complaint concerning FIFA president Gianni Infantino and the presentation of the “FIFA Peace Prize” to US president Donald Trump.

The Times reported that Martin Ngoga, the Rwandan chair of the investigatory chamber of FIFA’s Ethics Committee, turned down the NFF’s request for information about the case.

In a written response, Ngoga said: “The persons who are themselves subject to proceedings are considered parties to those proceedings.” He added: “Because of the confidential nature of ethics proceedings, we are not in a position to provide updates on whether proceedings exist in the first place, or on the status of any potential proceedings.”

The Norwegian federation wrote to the Ethics Committee in late May or early June 2026, calling for the matter to be dealt with publicly. The request was made under a mandate approved by its annual congress.

NFF president Lise Klaveness said at the time that the appeal was about “guarantees for the rule of law”. She argued that the committee should act transparently, even if it ultimately decided not to examine the complaint.

The original complaint was submitted on 8 December 2025 by the British human rights organisation FairSquare to FIFA’s investigatory chamber. It came three days after Infantino presented Trump with the award during the World Cup draw in Washington.

FairSquare accused Infantino of breaching the requirement for political neutrality set out in FIFA’s regulations and its Code of Ethics, specifically Article 15. The complaint also alleged procedural violations connected to the creation of the award and its presentation without a clear submission to the FIFA Council.

FIFA confirmed that it had received the complaint on 12 December, but did not disclose whether an investigation had been opened or provide information about its stage.

The NFF became the first national association to give formal written support to the complaint in June 2026. Later, about 50 Members of the European Parliament called on FIFA to address the matter.

In August, the Norwegian federation said it intended to broaden its ethics campaign to include other cases, among them the issue involving the suspension of the ban on American striker Folarin Balogun during the World Cup.

FIFA does not normally confirm the existence of ethics investigations or disclose their progress before a final decision has been reached. As of publication, world football’s governing body had made no public statement confirming that a formal investigation into the complaint had been opened or that the case had been closed.