100,000 Signatures Against Infantino as Belgium Withholds Re-Election Support

Pressure is mounting on FIFA President Gianni Infantino after more than 100,000 people backed a complaint asking FIFA’s Ethics Committee to investigate allegations of abuse of power and breaches of political neutrality linked to his relationship with Donald Trump. The controversy comes as the Belgian football federation says it will not support Infantino’s re-election without satisfactory answers over decisions that caused controversy during the 2026 World Cup.

British human rights organization FairSquare, through its Reboot FIFA campaign, submitted an updated complaint to FIFA’s Ethics Committee on September 8, following an earlier complaint filed in December 2025. The organization said the new submission identifies eight incidents that it believes may amount to breaches of FIFA’s ethics rules, including abuse of power, political neutrality and duty of loyalty. Reuters reviewed the complaint.

One of the main incidents concerns U.S. striker Folarin Balogun. During the World Cup, Trump contacted Infantino and asked him to review Balogun’s red card. The resulting automatic suspension was later put on hold, allowing the player to face Belgium in the round of 16.

The Belgian federation said it would not support Infantino’s re-election without satisfactory explanations over how the Balogun case was handled, after saying its questions had not received adequate answers. It also requested that the issue be placed on the agenda of the FIFA Council meeting scheduled for October 15, while raising wider concerns over transparency and governance linked to the FIFA Forward Enterprise project.

FairSquare also accuses Infantino of breaching political neutrality through public positions it considers supportive of Trump. The complaint further challenges the creation of the FIFA Peace Prize and its presentation to Trump without approval or participation from the FIFA Council.

The complaint also addresses FIFA Forward Enterprise, a project that sought to bring private investors into commercial assets linked to FIFA competitions. FairSquare alleges that the project was developed with politically connected investors without sufficient compliance with FIFA governance procedures, before the organization abandoned the plan in July amid opposition.

FIFA’s Ethics Committee acknowledged receiving FairSquare’s original complaint in December 2025, but the organization says it has received no update on its status. FairSquare is now seeking a two-year ban from football-related activities for Infantino if the alleged violations are established.

The dispute comes ahead of the FIFA presidential election scheduled for March 2027. FIFA has confirmed that Infantino intends to seek another term, while FairSquare is separately challenging his eligibility under the organization’s presidential term-limit rules.