Norway Files Formal Ethics Complaints Against FIFA's Infantino Over Trump Ties

The Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) filed two formal complaints on Tuesday, October 6, asking FIFA's Ethics Committee and its Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee (GACC) to investigate FIFA president Gianni Infantino. A national federation had not previously filed an official complaint against him, according to Goal.com.

The complaints bundle three separate matters together. First, Infantino's now-abandoned plan to let private investors buy into a World Cup-linked company through the "FIFA Forward Enterprise" initiative. Second, FIFA's decision to lift American forward Folarin Balogun's red-card suspension during the 2026 World Cup after Trump personally phoned Infantino. Third, FIFA's awarding of a so-called Peace Prize to Trump in December.

The Ethics Committee filing "asks the Ethics Committee to examine the conduct of FIFA President Gianni Infantino and any other individuals identified through the investigation for potential breaches of FIFA's Code of Ethics," according to Al Jazeera and multiple outlets carrying the same filing language. The second filing asks the GACC whether "FIFA's governance, financial oversight, internal controls and decision-making processes worked as intended."

Klaveness says it's all one story

NFF president Lise Klaveness, a former Norway international and one of Infantino's longest-running critics, told The Times that Trump is the thread connecting all three matters. "There is a line between all these three cases, and it's the same political regime," she said.

The investment angle is where the Trump family connection gets specific. Josh Kushner, brother of Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, runs the venture capital firm that was lined up to be the lead investor in the FFE plan, according to Al Jazeera. The plan surfaced shortly after the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico in July, and collapsed within days under public backlash.

Klaveness isn't mincing words on what she wants examined: "Is it an abuse of power, an abuse of position? Is it a breach of political neutrality? Is it in accordance with the rules of governance, as the FIFA Council should be the strategic body, and the president shouldn't really have any unilateral power?"

The strongest case for Infantino

FIFA has not publicly responded to the specific complaints in these reports, and none of the three episodes has produced a finding of wrongdoing from any FIFA body. The suspension reversal for Balogun, while triggered by a phone call from a sitting US president, is the kind of disciplinary review FIFA conducts routinely. A reasonable defender of Infantino would note that overturning a red-card suspension is not inherently improper just because a head of state asked for it. The Peace Prize, however widely mocked, was FIFA's own discretionary award, not a financial transaction, and critics have not alleged it violated any specific rule. The investment plan was scrapped before any money changed hands.

The pattern Klaveness is pointing to is the clustering: a private deal tied to a Trump family connection, a sporting decision reversed on a Trump phone call, and an award handed personally to Trump, all within months of each other and all under one president with, by her account, unchecked unilateral authority.

What else is moving

Separately, UEFA has initiated legal action in Florida seeking documents related to Infantino's investment plan, which WTX News reports may support a forthcoming criminal complaint in Switzerland, where FIFA is headquartered. UEFA has described the matter as part of what it calls a misinformation campaign tied to FIFA's upcoming presidential election.

Infantino is already set to stand for re-election in the March 2027 FIFA presidential vote, having confirmed his candidacy despite the FFE backlash, FIFA announced in September. Other potential challengers have until November 18 to declare, and it remains unclear whether anyone will.

The next concrete checkpoint is the FIFA Council meeting scheduled for October 15 in Zurich, which Infantino is expected to chair, according to Goal.com. Whether the Ethics Committee or the GACC opens a formal investigation, and on what timeline, is not yet known. Neither FIFA committee has issued a public response to Norway's filings as of this writing.