The decision by the world football governing body FIFA to grant its inaugural ‘Peace Prize’ to US President Donald J. Trump has sparked a formal ethics complaint and widespread condemnation, putting FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s leadership under intense scrutiny.
The prize was awarded during the 2026 World Cup final draw ceremony held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. on December 5, 2025. As Infantino presented Trump with the trophy and a medal, he praised the US leader for what he described as “exceptional actions” toward global peace and unity.
But the move has triggered a backlash from human-rights and sports-governance organisations. London-based NGO FairSquare submitted an eight-page complaint on December 9 to FIFA’s Ethics Committee, accusing Infantino of violating the organisation’s code of neutrality. According to FairSquare, awarding a political leader — especially one as polarising as Trump — represents “a clear breach” of FIFA’s mandate to remain apolitical.
FairSquare’s programme director, Nicholas McGeehan, said in the complaint that the prize may have been created without proper FIFA Council approval and that Infantino acted unilaterally — constituting “an egregious abuse of power.”
Critics have derided the prize as nothing more than a political stunt. “The award of a prize of this nature to a sitting political leader is in and of itself a clear breach of FIFA’s duty of neutrality,” FairSquare argued.
Some voices have also questioned the legitimacy of the prize, pointing out that there was no transparent selection process, no independent judging committee, and seemingly no criteria for what constitutes “peace-building achievements.”
Moreover, detractors argue that praising Trump for “peace and unity” sits uneasily against his controversial record on human rights and geopolitics — particularly his administration’s foreign-policy posture and military interventions.
