IOC to investigate FIFA president Gianni Infantino over Trump hat and collaboration

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry says the organisation will investigate if IOC member Gianni Infantino breached the terms of its charter when attending the inaugural meeting of The Board of Peace, which was established by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Infantino, the president of football’s world governing body FIFA, appeared at the meeting in Washington D.C. on Thursday, flanked by politicans and sporting a red hat with ‘USA’ on the front and the numbers ‘45-47’ — a reference to Trump’s non-consecutive presidencies.

Infantino also used the occasion to announce that FIFA had signed what he described as “a landmark partnership ⁠agreement” with The Board of Peace, which was meeting primarily to discuss plans to rebuild Gaza.

“I wasn’t aware of that, that we had an IOC member front and centre,” Coventry told a press conference during Winter Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina, when asked about the hat and Infantino’s presence.

“Now that you guys (journalists) made us aware of it we will go back and have a look at it. The IOC Charter is very clear what it expects of its members. We will go and research into the alleged signing of documents.”

The IOC’s charter states that members must act independently of political and commercial interests, and cannot accept “from governments, organisations, or other parties, any mandate or instructions liable to interfere with the freedom of their action and vote”.

“I think from the IOC’s point of view we will continue to be politically neutral,” Coventry added. “That’s the only way for us as an organisation to ensure that we allow for there to be fairness on the field of play. That’s what we will continue to do as we walk into the future.”

Infantino has allied himself closely with Trump since the latter’s return to office in January 2025, and in December awarded him the inaugral ‘FIFA Peace Prize’ at the World Cup draw in Washington, D.C.

In November, Infantino was accused of a “clear violation” of FIFA’s own statutes on neutrality by Miguel Maduro — a former chairman of FIFA’s Governance Committee — after appearing to endorse Trump’s political agenda. The Swiss had said during a speech in Miami that “we should all support what he (Trump) is doing”.

The following month, FairSquare — a a non-profit organisation and advocacy group — made an official complaint to FIFA’s Ethics Committee, alleging “repeated breaches” of FIFA’s duty of political neutrality by Infantino.

All four of the alleged breaches outlined by FairSquare related to Infantino’s relationship with Trump, including the decision to award him FIFA’s Peace Prize.

FIFA wants to build 50 mini-pitches near schools and residential areas in Gaza, five full-size pitches across multiple districts, a state-of-the-art FIFA academy ⁠and a new 20,000-seat national stadium in the territory, the governing body said.