FIFA president Infantino reported for World Cup behaviour on eve of England match

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A complaint has been lodged to the International Olympic Committee claiming FIFA president Gianni Infantino has violated rules on political neutrality. It comes on the eve of the huge semi-final clashes including England’s match with

Argentina

, and follows on from in his interactions with

United States

President

Donald Trump

in relation to Folarin Balogun's red card being lifted at the World Cup.

FairSquare, a human rights organisation alleges Infantino – who joined the IOC in 2020 – has consistently breached the Olympic Charter and the IOC's code of ethics. The latest incident refers to

Balogun's one-match suspension being lifted by FIFA's disciplinary committee

, clearing him to feature in their World Cup last-16 clash against

Belgium

.

This came after a telephone conversation between President Trump and Infantino, with the Swiss chief insisting that FIFA's committees operate completely independently. The Daily

Mirror

has approached FIFA for a comment.

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The Times

has claimed that disciplinary committee chair Mohammad Al Kamali took the crucial decision to lift the suspension alone, despite never having been the sole decision-maker in any previously published disciplinary matters.

FIFA has provided no clarification as to why the suspension was lifted. FairSquare's complaint identifies five clear violations of the IOC's rules on political neutrality, alongside 'prima facie' evidence of two additional serious violations – including the management of the Balogun situation.

In December, FairSquare submitted a comparable complaint to FIFA's ethics committee. FairSquare confirmed it had received acknowledgement that its complaint had been received, but has received no further updates.

Last month, the Norwegian football federation submitted a letter to FIFA's ethics committee calling on it to examine FairSquare's complaint. On June 29, 50 members of the European Parliament also wrote to the same committee, urging it to tackle FairSquare's grievance.

Balogun addressed the situation on CBS Mornings and admitted Trump's involvement caused a distraction for the

USMNT

. He said: "My initial reaction was that I was happy to be back in the team. But when I started to reflect, I knew it was going to cause a lot of controversy.

"And I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves because it's something that is so unique. But the closer we got to the game, I tried to just focus as best as I could but it was difficult - a lot of outside noise and that's hard to avoid.

"It was confusing because the team was practicing without me in the team, I'm almost just playing a supporting role to keep morale high."

The latest FIFA debacle will likely play into UEFA's hands, who want to pitch a candidate who can run against

Infantino

at the next

FIFA

presidential election, according to

talkSPORT

Infantino is seeking a third term, and had been hoping his re-election will be unopposed, but there is growing support for other candidates within UEFA.

UEFA President Alexander Ceferin would be the most credible candidate to succeed the FIFA chief, yet the Slovenian looks set to remain in his current post at UEFA come next spring. Ceferin reportedly has no desire to go toe-to-toe with Infantino, despite the pair having clashed on several occasions.

A number of UEFA federations, among them Belgium and Poland, would throw their weight behind

PSG

President Nasser Al-Khelaifi standing in the next election, however it is reported that the EFC Chairman has no interest in putting himself forward for the position.

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It is understood that senior figures within Bosnian, Norwegian, Swedish, German and Spanish football have held talks over throwing their support behind Legia owner Dariusz Mioduski - with backing for him potentially growing further.

Beyond UEFA, Concacaf president Victor Montagliani has also been mooted as a possible candidate to take over from Infantino.