Norwegian federation files twin complaints against FIFA president Infantino

The Norwegian Football Federation has asked FIFA's ethics and governance bodies to examine Gianni Infantino's conduct across three controversies linked to Donald Trump.

The Norwegian Football Federation has lodged formal complaints against FIFA president Gianni Infantino with two committees at world football's governing body, alleging possible abuse of power and conflicts of interest. The complaints, the first of them submitted Tuesday, revolve around three episodes tied to this year's World Cup and its fallout.

One filing asks FIFA's Ethics Committee to examine the conduct of the president, along with any other individuals an investigation may identify, for possible breaches of the FIFA Code of Ethics. The other goes to the Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee and questions whether the organization's governance, financial oversight, internal controls and decision-making performed as intended.

At issue first is a plan announced just after the July World Cup, co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States, that would have let private investors buy stakes in a company created under an initiative called FIFA Forward Enterprise. The venture capital firm of Josh Kushner, brother of President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, was set to be the chief backer before Infantino scrapped the idea within days amid fierce backlash.

The second matter concerns American Folarin Balogun, whose red card in the U.S. win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32 carried an automatic ban for the following match, against Belgium. FIFA suspended that punishment, prompting widespread criticism once it emerged Trump had phoned Infantino to intervene. The third is the FIFA Peace Prize Infantino presented to Trump in December, an honor that has drawn broad ridicule.

Lise Klaveness, the NFF's 45-year-old president and a former international player who has long clashed with Infantino, told The Times that Trump is the thread connecting all three cases, which she tied to the same political regime. She said the federation wants to know whether the episodes amount to abuse of power or position, a breach of political neutrality, and whether strategic decisions belong to the FIFA Council rather than a president acting alone.

Infantino, a 56-year-old Swiss first elected in 2016, says he will run for a fourth and final term when FIFA's 211 member associations vote in Rabat next March, and no challenger has yet come forward ahead of the November 18 deadline to declare. Klaveness, who urged him in August to resign and skip the race, has ruled out running herself despite admirers that include his predecessor, Sepp Blatter.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has said he does not want the job. The candidate most often mentioned is Victor Montagliani, the Canadian who heads CONCACAF and is part of an alliance against Infantino formed with UEFA and the Asian Football Confederation. Numerous European members have publicly withdrawn their backing, while AFC associations including 2034 World Cup host Saudi Arabia and 2022 host Qatar remain loyal, as do African body CAF and South America's CONMEBOL.

UEFA has also turned to a Florida court to obtain documents connected to the abandoned investment plan, building toward a possible criminal complaint in Switzerland, where it and FIFA are based. FIFA has accused the European body of running what it calls a misinformation campaign aimed at swaying the election, and UEFA has separately branded the plan a murky, closed-door arrangement.