50 members of the European Parliament from 13 countries have called for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the awarding of the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to US President Donald Trump, which FIFA President Gianni Infantino presented to him last December. The lawmakers said the matter warrants an independent review by FIFA's Ethics Committee.
In a letter to the Ethics Committee, reported by French newspaper L'Équipe, the MEPs echoed a demand first made in December by British human rights organisation FairSquare, calling for the investigation to be conducted as swiftly as possible and to the highest standards of integrity and transparency, with full disclosure of all circumstances relating to the creation of the award and its presentation to the US President.
FairSquare had previously accused the FIFA president of violating the neutrality principle enshrined in Article 15 of FIFA's Code of Ethics, arguing that his decision served the political interests of the US President. If a violation is established, Infantino could face a financial penalty as well as a ban from all football-related activities of up to two years.
The organisation also called on the Ethics Committee to investigate how the award was created and the criteria FIFA used in selecting its inaugural recipient, stressing that FIFA has yet to clarify the basis or conditions under which the prize is granted.
To date, FIFA's Ethics Committee has not opened any investigation into the matter, and the governing body has issued no comment on the complaints filed or the ongoing controversy surrounding the FIFA Peace Prize — an award that has received support from only the Norwegian Football Federation among the 211 member associations of FIFA.