The Norwegian Football Association (NFF) has publicly declared its support for an ethics complaint filed against FIFA President Gianni Infantino. The complaint centers on the controversial FIFA Peace Prize awarded to former U.S. President Donald Trump, an accolade the NFF president has called for to be abolished.

The nff’s strong stance against the prize

Lise Klaveness, president of the NFF, confirmed the association’s board intends to send a letter backing calls for an investigation into the prize. Speaking to NRK, Klaveness was unequivocal in her criticism.

“Absolutely. We are critical of its creation. It had no basis in the FIFA Congress. It has no legitimacy, and it is clearly outside FIFA’s mandate. It is serious that a political award is being introduced without any basis,” Klaveness stated.

The FIFA Peace Prize was presented to Trump in December during the draw for the 2026 World Cup. Reports from NRK, cited by GiveMeSport, indicate that other FIFA board members were reportedly surprised by the prize’s introduction and were not consulted on its creation, which lacked any basis in the FIFA Congress.

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Ethical breaches and the call for investigation

The ethics complaint against Infantino was initially lodged by human rights campaign group FairSquare in December. The group alleged that Infantino and FIFA may have breached their ethical guidelines regarding political impartiality by awarding the prize to Trump. FairSquare’s letter of complaint to FIFA specifically claimed Infantino had “committed four clear breaches” of FIFA’s neutrality rules.

“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 stated in their complaint.

FIFA’s Code of Ethics Article 15 requires all FIFA officials to “remain politically neutral.” Violations of this article can lead to significant penalties, including fines and suspensions of up to two years.

The controversy is further fueled by Infantino’s history of public support for Trump. In October 2025, Infantino wrote on Instagram that Trump “absolutely deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.” Since Trump’s return as U.S. President in January 2025, Infantino has also appeared at several events where Trump was central, including a Middle East summit in Sharm El-Sheikh.

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During the World Cup draw, a FIFA-produced tribute video highlighting Trump’s peace efforts was also shown. Trump claims he created peace in many countries after he came into his second period as US President in 2025.

Infantino’s defense amid neutrality concerns

Despite the mounting criticism, Gianni Infantino doubled down on the decision to award the FIFA Peace Prize in February. Speaking to the media, he offered a general justification for the award.

“Whatever we can do to help peace in the world, we should be doing it, and for this reason, for some time we were thinking about [whether] we should do something to reward people who do something,” Infantino said, as reported by Sky News.

The NFF’s formal backing adds significant weight to the call for an investigation into the FIFA Peace Prize. The association’s firm stance underscores a growing concern within the football community regarding FIFA’s adherence to its own ethical standards and its commitment to political neutrality.

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Sources: www.givemesport.com, www.nrk.no, news.sky.com

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