FIFA President Gianni Infantino is facing a major political storm at the top of world football as 50 members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have officially demanded an ethics investigation into his actions.

The lawmakers are calling for scrutiny over the decision to invent a new “FIFA Peace Prize” and subsequently award its inaugural edition to U.S. President Donald Trump.

The intervention represents a massive escalation in a controversy that has been brewing since December 2025, when Infantino presented Trump with a large trophy, medal, and certificate during the high-profile FIFA World Cup draw in Washington, D.C.

The Ethics Complaint

The 50 European lawmakers, representing 13 countries and primarily hailing from the Social Democrats, Liberals, and Greens, signed a formal letter addressed to FIFA’s Independent Ethics Committee.

This letter reinforces an existing eight-page complaint originally lodged in December by FairSquare, a British-based sports human rights advocacy group.

The core of the complaint focuses on Article 15 of the FIFA Code of Ethics, which strictly mandates that the governing body and its officials must remain politically and religiously neutral.

Critics argue that Infantino’s repeated public championing and close relationship with the sitting U.S. president directly violate these statutes.

Irish MEP Barry Andrews, one of the leading figures behind the letter alongside Lara Wolters (Netherlands), Niels Fuglsang (Denmark), and Sebastian Everding (Germany), warned that the situation risks tarnishing the reputation of football’s biggest event.

“The World Cup is arguably the biggest global event of any kind. It is supposed to unite the world,” Andrews stated. “Yet when FIFA president Gianni Infantino favors one president over another, this brings FIFA and the whole tournament into disrepute.”

Questions of Unilateral Governance

Beyond the issue of political neutrality, the investigation aims to uncover whether Infantino bypassed FIFA’s own democratic governing structures to establish the award.

The letter specifically requests that the ethics committee determine whether the introduction of the annual peace prize was approved by the formal FIFA Council, the bureau of the council, or if it was decided unilaterally by Infantino himself.

This procedural concern has already gained traction within the football community. Lise Klaveness, the president of the Norwegian Football Association, criticized the lack of internal consultation, stating that it should be left to the ethics committee to evaluate if a clear breach of neutrality occurred.

Currently, Norway is the only one of FIFA’s 211 member nations to formally join the criticism.

Broader Criticisms Afflicting FIFA

The backlash over the Trump Peace Prize is not the only issue raised by lawmakers. The co-signed letter also targeted FIFA’s deepening ties with Saudi Arabia, the hosts of the 2034 World Cup, as well as a lucrative corporate sponsorship deal with Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil and gas giant.

The MEPs sharply criticized the partnership, labelling Aramco “the world’s biggest corporate polluter.”

The complaint has been submitted to FIFA’s Independent Ethics Committee, currently chaired by Rwandan UN representative Martin Ngoga which has not publicly confirmed whether it has opened a formal investigation.

If the nine-person committee finds Infantino in violation of procedural rules or neutrality statutes, potential sanctions could range from a formal reprimand and fines to a temporary or permanent ban from all football-related activities.