Fifa president Gianni Infantino has been called to appear before Congress about Trump’s relationship | 2026 World Cup

Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, has begun an investigation into FIFA president Gianni Infantino, seeking documents that will detail the relationship between the governing body of football and Donald Trump and his administration.

In a letter on Sunday, Raskin wrote to Infantino and asked Fifa to provide any documents and communications related to gifts, payments or benefits given to Trump and his associates, as well as the guest logs of the Fifa office in Trump Tower, which it received last year. The committee also requested that Infantino sit for a written interview.

Infantino’s relationship with Trump has come under scrutiny before this summer’s World Cup. In December, at the World Cup in Washington, Trump was awarded the “Fifa peace award” that had just been created at the Kennedy Center, where it was said that the renovation was “urgent” according to the order of the administration to prepare for the event. Fifa opened its office in Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan last July.

Such scrutiny intensified during the World Cup. Trump made several calls to Infantino to request a review of US striker Folarin Balogun’s controversial red card suspension ahead of the Americans’ last 16 match against Belgium. FIFA overturned Balogun’s ban, but the political circus disrupted the American team and angered other teams and associations around the world.

Along with the leaders of Canada and Mexico, Trump joined Infantino in presenting the World Cup trophy after Spain beat Argentina in the final. The two, who watched the finals together in a glass-lined luxury seating area, were met with cheers from the New York New Jersey Stadium crowd as they entered the arena.

Raskin’s letter refers to the Justice Department’s decision to “dismiss the indictment” of defendants in the US government’s investigation into corruption in global soccer, including the 2015 prosecution of more than 20 FIFA officials and sports marketing executives.

“[Y]our election as FIFA president should have marked a red-card break from a decades-long culture of corruption and scandals that have tarnished the image of soccer around the world,” Raskin wrote to Infantino in a letter. This lack of transparency and oversight has since paved the way for him to gain acceptance from the Trump administration through tactics the New York University law professor and former ethics committee member described as ‘legal bribery’.

This book also talks about Fifa’s policy of issuing tickets for the World Cup, which has already been investigated by many American lawyers. The use of variable pricing drew a lot of criticism during the tournament, which led to a huge increase in fan attendance.

“The most recent quid pro quo established by Fifa and President Trump is not a victimless crime. It hurts the American people. Fifa has taken its new position of popularity in the Trump administration as a sign that it may rip off its customers, in particular, by using illegal tactics of price reduction and fake sales in the World Cup,” Raskin said in the letter.

The letter gives a deadline of 9 August to provide the requested documents and schedule an interview. Raskin does not have the power to force Infantino to appear, since the Democrats do not have a majority in the House, unless he gets the support of the Republicans.

Fifa’s cooperation with the American government did not end with the World Cup this summer. The United States is expected to host the women’s World Cup in 2031, and the success of the tournament has led many to speculate that the 2038 men’s World Cup may be hosted by the United States. Fifa has been contacted for comment.

Earlier on Monday, Infantino used a 15-part message on Instagram to criticize his critics, accusing them of spreading hate and false narratives. He praised the World Cup as a success.

More than 200 Fifa members endorsed Infantino ahead of the presidential election in March, but other associations opposed him. Norway’s football federation plans to file a formal complaint to Fifa’s ethics investigation into Trump’s role in overturning Balogun’s ban.