FairSquare has called FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s presence and comments at the Sharm el-Sheikh ‘Peace Summit’ yesterday “highly significant and deeply troubling”.

Infantino, who was at the summit alongside US President Donald Trump and numerous world leaders, released a video on his Instagram account and said that FIFA would “help to bring football back – together with the Palestinian Football Association – in every corner of the country” and that it would “launch a fund to help rebuild football infrastructure in Palestine.”

Infantino made no mention of the ongoing complaint that the Palestine Football Association filed against the Israel Football Association in March 2024 for multiple violations of the FIFA statutes.

Commenting on Infantino’s appearance and comments, Nick McGeehan of FairSquare said:

“Gianni Infantino’s presence and comments at Sharm el-Sheikh are highly significant and deeply troubling. Infantino has abandoned all pretence of the political neutrality that FIFA espouses and is statutorily committed to uphold, and has put FIFA firmly in the corner of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu.”

“It now appears clear that Infantino intends to use this deeply flawed peace process to circumvent FIFA’s responsibilities viz a viz Israel. It is vitally important that the Palestinian Football Association resist any appeals from FIFA for it to drop its complaint about the Israel Football Association, and that it continue its campaign for justice and accountability.”