Fifty members of the European Parliament have formally urged FIFA's ethics committee to investigate President Gianni Infantino over his decision to award a 'peace prize' to US President Donald Trump. The MEPs signed a letter supporting a complaint filed in December by FairSquare, a British-based sports human rights lobbying group. The letter, dated June 29 and released on Thursday night by FairSquare, argues that FIFA's code of ethics requires Infantino to 'remain politically neutral.'
MEPs demand accountability
The letter, signed by 50 lawmakers from 13 European countries, explicitly echoes FairSquare's request that FIFA's ethics committee investigate 'whether the decisions to introduce an annual FIFA peace prize and then award the prize to President Trump were taken by the FIFA Council or by the bureau of the council or unilaterally by Mr. Infantino himself.' The MEPs added: 'This complaint represents an opportunity for FIFA to prove its commitment to political neutrality, transparency, and accountability.'
Limited international criticism
Of FIFA's 211 member nations, only Norway has so far joined the criticism of the peace prize. The Norwegian football federation wrote a letter in June calling for an investigation. FairSquare stated in an accompanying press release that the MEPs' letter represents 'the most significant intervention by European policymakers into misgovernance and rulebreaking at the top of the world game since the European Parliament called on Infantino's predecessor Sepp Blatter to resign in 2015.' Blatter announced his resignation in June 2015, shortly after being re-elected president.
Signatories and additional concerns
The 50 MEPs are primarily Social Democrats, Liberals, and Greens. The four lead signatories are Barry Andrews from Ireland, Lara Wolters of the Netherlands, Dane Niels Fuglsang, and German Sebastian Everding. The letter also criticizes FIFA's links with Saudi Arabia, which will host the 2034 World Cup, and FIFA's recent sponsorship deal with Aramco, Saudi Arabia's national oil and gas company, which the MEPs called 'the world's biggest corporate polluter.'
