The Olympic Committee closed the case against Infantino: "It is not within our authority"
The international organization rejected the complaint against the FIFA president in the wake of Balogun's suspension, which was canceled following the intervention of the US President: "An absurd decision"
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced today (Friday) that it will not open an investigation into FIFA President Gianni Infantino, following a complaint filed against him alleging that he violated the principle of political neutrality in the affair regarding the cancellation of the suspension of US national team striker Folarin Balogun during the World Cup.
The complaint was filed earlier this month by the human rights organization FairSquare to the IOC Ethics Commission. The organization claimed that Infantino, who has also served as a member of the Olympic Committee since 2020, acted against Olympic principles after US President Donald Trump admitted that he had personally approached him and asked him to reconsider the red card that Balogun had received.
In an exceptional move, Balogun's automatic suspension was frozen for 12 months, without any detailed explanation provided beyond a clause in the regulations that allows for the suspension of penalties. As a result, the striker was available for the round of 16 match against Belgium, in which the United States started with a full squad but was defeated in a stinging 4:1 loss.
The IOC statement said that the Ethics Commission examined the complaint but determined that it does not have the authority to discuss it:
"The complaint relates solely to FIFA's decisions regarding its governance, its administration, its relations with governments, and the application of the laws of the game - issues that are outside the scope of the IOC Code of Ethics."
FairSquare attacked the decision and called it "absurd":
"The IOC's commitment to political neutrality is just as strict as that of FIFA. This decision will only strengthen the calls to apply external regulation to international sports bodies, because they prove once again that they are unable to enforce their own rules consistently and impartially."
At the same time, opposition to the affair continues within the football world as well. The Norwegian Football Federation announced that it is considering filing an official complaint with the FIFA Ethics Committee regarding the decision to suspend Balogun's ban, after it had already protested to FIFA over the awarding of the organization's first "Peace Prize" to Donald Trump.
