Washington (GNP): FIFA president Gianni Infantino is facing a congressional investigation after Jamie Raskin, the senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, demanded records detailing the relationship between world soccer’s governing body and Donald Trump and his administration.
In a letter sent Sunday, Raskin asked Infantino to hand over any documents or communications tied to gifts, payments or other benefits given to Trump or his associates, along with visitor logs for FIFA’s office inside Trump Tower, which the organization took over last year. The committee also asked that Infantino agree to sit for a transcribed interview.
Scrutiny of the Infantino-Trump relationship had already been building ahead of this summer’s World Cup. In December, at the tournament draw held in Washington, Trump received a newly created FIFA peace prize during a Kennedy Center ceremony, for which renovations were reportedly rushed at the administration’s direction in time for the event. FIFA’s Trump Tower office in midtown Manhattan had opened the previous July, and the arrangement drew fresh attention as the tournament approached.
That scrutiny grew sharper once the World Cup got underway. Trump placed several calls to Infantino pressing for a review of a contested red-card suspension handed to US striker Folarin Balogun ahead of the Americans’ round-of-16 match against Belgium.
FIFA ultimately reversed the suspension, but the episode drew criticism from other national teams and federations, who viewed the intervention as inappropriate political interference in the tournament. Trump later joined Infantino, along with the leaders of Canada and Mexico, for the trophy ceremony after Spain defeated Argentina in the final, watching the match from a glassed-in luxury section before the pair were greeted with boos from the crowd at New York New Jersey Stadium as they stepped onto the field.
Raskin’s letter also points to the Department of Justice’s move to drop indictments connected to earlier US investigations into corruption within global soccer, including the 2015 case that charged more than twenty senior Fifa officials and sports-marketing executives.
The letter argues that Infantino’s tenure was expected to break from FIFA’s long history of scandal, but instead accuses him of weakening the organization’s ethics oversight early on by removing much of its ethics committee, which it says allowed him to build a close relationship with the Trump administration through methods a New York University law professor and former Fifa ethics committee member once labeled “legal bribery.”
The inquiry further touches on FIFA’s ticketing practices for the World Cup, which are already under review by several state attorneys general in the United States. The tournament’s use of dynamic pricing sparked significant backlash after it drove sudden price spikes that shut many fans out of games.
Raskin’s letter characterizes the arrangement between FIFA and Trump as harmful to ordinary Americans, arguing that FIFA’s improved standing with the administration emboldened the organization to overcharge consumers through aggressive pricing and misleading sales practices during the tournament.
Raskin has set a deadline of August 9 for FIFA to turn over the requested materials and arrange the interview. However, he lacks the authority to force Infantino’s cooperation since Democrats do not control the House, unless Republican members join the effort.
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FIFA’s dealings with the US government are expected to continue well beyond this year’s tournament, with the United States set to serve as the main host for the 2031 Women’s World Cup and speculation building that it could also host the men’s tournament in 2038. FIFA has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Earlier Monday, Infantino pushed back against the criticism through a lengthy 15-part message posted on Instagram, accusing detractors of spreading hatred and misinformation while defending the World Cup as a success.
More than 200 FIFA member associations have already backed Infantino ahead of the organization’s presidential election in March, though opposition remains in some quarters, with Norway’s football federation preparing to file a formal ethics complaint against him over Trump’s involvement in reversing Balogun’s suspension.
Managing Editor at Global News Pakistan (GNP), with a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from Riphah International University, graduated with a Gold Medal. Reach out at sabahtareengnp@gmail.com
