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FIFA president Gianni Infantino has been accused of going against the governing body's statutes with his comments about Donald Trump . Infantino has enjoyed a healthy relationship with the United States President ahead of next summer's World Cup, but the Italian's latest comments have been viewed differently to some of his previous public statements. The US is one of three host nations for the 2026 World Cup , along with Canada and Mexico. Infantino spoke at the American Business Forum in Miami this week, where Trump was also an attendee, and spoke in glowing terms about the 79-year-old and his governance since beginning a second term as president. Infantino's comments have drawn criticism from Miguel Maduro, who previously served as chairman of FIFA’s governance committee between 2016 and 2017. Specifically, there are concerns around Infantino's call to support what Trump is doing. The specific FIFA statute reads as follows: “FIFA remains neutral in matters of politics and religion. Exceptions may be made with regard to matters affected by FIFA’s statutory objectives.” “A debate could take place on the extent to which such obligation should extend to political positions taken when FIFA officials act in a private capacity," Maduro told The Athletic . “However, that is clearly not the case of the statement in question. It was made in his capacity as president of FIFA in an event he clearly participated in as FIFA president. “I think a president of FIFA can state that electoral results should be respected. But Infantino went beyond that," Maduro continued. "The final part of his statement does more than recognising the legitimacy of President Trump, it endorses his political programme and actions and argues others should support them too. He is taking a position in what is an internal political debate in the U.S. “While he can recognise the legitimacy of President Trump, he should also recognise that in a democracy, others can oppose his policies. To remain politically neutral requires not to take a position on that political debate, much less to argue that all should support President Trump’s policies. To do so appears a clear violation of the duty of political neutrality imposed on any FIFA official by Article 15 of its Code of Ethics.” "We have a great relationship. I’m really lucky. I have a great relationship with President Trump, where I consider him a really close friend," Infantino said in Miami. "Of course he’s being very helpful in everything we are doing for the World Cup. He added: “I am not American, but as far as I understand, President Trump was elected in the United States of America and was quite clearly elected. When you are in such a great democracy as the United States of America, you should first of all respect the results of the election, right? “In the end he was elected based on the programme, based on what he said. He is just implementing what he said he would do. So I think we should all support what he’s doing because I think it’s looking pretty good.” Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
