President Trump, Gianni Infantino Face Official Complaint From World Cup Nation
Lise Klaveness, president of the Norwegian soccer federation, has called upon FIFA to abolish its Peace Prize, which was awarded in its inaugural edition to U.S. President Donald Trump in December, on the grounds that it had "no legitimacy."
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has also come under fire for creating this award, which Klaveness and FairSquare, the non-profit human rights organization, claim is a breach of FIFA's statutes.
"The issue is that FIFA, through its president, has violated rules regarding political neutrality by awarding this peace prize," Klaveness told Norwegian outlet NRK on Monday. "We are asking the Ethics Committee to review this."
Klaveness's response to the question of whether the Peace Prize should abolished going forward was emphatic. "Absolutely," she replied. "We are critical of its creation. It had no basis in the FIFA Congress. It has no legitimacy, and it is clearly outside FIFA's mandate. It is a serious matter that a political award is introduced without any basis.
"We discussed this at the board meeting. We have decided that we will support this, and we will send a letter to FIFA asking the Ethics Committee to review this complaint."
Why Was President Trump Given the FIFA Peace Prize?
The creation of the FIFA Peace Prize was cloaked in vagaries from its first announcement. No criteria was officially published, and it was widely established that Trump would be the first recipient months before he was given his medal and a large trophy of hands clawing at a golden globe during the World Cup Draw.
Fortunately, for the millions of quizzical onlookers, Infantino also had a certificate for Trump, explaining his triumph which he read aloud.
"The FIFA Peace Prize is presented annually on behalf of the billions of football-loving people from around the world to a distinguished individual who exemplifies an unwavering commitment to advancing peace and unity throughout the world, through their notable leadership and action," Infantino declared.
"Like everyone here in the room," the FIFA president continued, "we see images of war all over the world. And like everyone, we suffer for every child that dies. We cry with every mother that loses someone she loves. And we want to see hope. We want to see unity. We want to see a future.
"And I was lucky, Mr. President, to witness last, a few years ago, the Abraham Accord signatures a few months ago in Sharm el-Sheikh, the peace in the Middle East agreement regarding Gaza. I was in Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur for the peace between Cambodia and Thailand yesterday here in Washington, the Washington Peace Agreement between Rwanda and the DRC."
"You definitely deserve the first FIFA Peace Prize for your action," Infantino added amid sparse applause, "for what you have obtained in your way, but you obtained it in an incredible way. And you can always count, Mr. President, on my support, on the support of the entire football community-or soccer community-to help you make peace and make the world prosper all over the world."
‘Pressure on FIFA Increases'
FairSquare CEO Nick McGeehan was hopeful that the public support of Norway, one of the 48 nations competing at this summer's World Cup, would add some ballast to the complaint against Infantino. "This is very encouraging news," McGeehan told NRK.
"It definitely increases the pressure on FIFA to follow through. It's encouraging that there are people within soccer who are taking this seriously and want to hold FIFA accountable, demanding that they adhere to their own regulations and that this be done in an open and transparent manner.
"I think this will be problematic for FIFA, because it creates real political pressure. It's a completely different matter when it comes from a football association. They can dismiss a complaint when it comes from us, but when it comes from an association that also has a board member at UEFA, it's on a whole different level of seriousness."
FairSquare and Norway's federation both refer to Article 15 in FIFA's Code of Ethics, which decrees that employees of world soccer's governing body must "remain politically neutral" and "generally act in a manner compatible with their function and integrity." Failure to do so can result in a fine of $12,730 (10,000 CH) and "a ban on taking part in any football-related activity for a maximum of two years."
However, this is not the first time that Infantino has been accused of breaching political neutrality. The same allegations were made in February when the Swiss executive was pictured wearing a red "USA" cap with "45–47" on the side, a piece of Trump Store merchandise that highlights Trump's role as the 45th and 47th president. The International Olympic Committee cleared Infantino of any wrongdoing on that occasion.
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This story was originally published April 27, 2026 at 2:00 PM.