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07/24 12:08 CDT IOC won't pursue its member Infantino over FIFA red-card ruling
at World Cup
IOC won't pursue its member Infantino over FIFA red-card ruling at World Cup
By GRAHAM DUNBAR
AP Sports Writer
GENEVA (AP) --- IOC member and FIFA leader Gianni Infantino will not have to
explain to the Olympic body how U.S. President Donald Trump helped to stop a
player's ban at the World Cup.
The IOC said on Friday it has no jurisdiction to investigate Infantino's
alleged lack of political neutrality.
A London-based NGO formally complained this month to the International Olympic
Committee ethics commission about Infantino, including his part in ensuring
United States forward Folarin Balogun did not serve a mandatory one-game ban
despite being sent off in the previous game.
The IOC's Olympic Charter cites neutrality among "fundamental principles of
Olympism" for sports bodies like FIFA and its 100-plus members, which has
included Infantino since 2020.
No formal investigation will be opened, the IOC said, because the complaint by
rights group FairSquare did not relate to FIFA's or Infantino's specific
relations with the Olympic body.
The complaint "refers only to (FIFA's) decisions on its governance and its
management, including its relations with government, and to (FIFA's)
implementation of the rules of its sport," the IOC said in a statement.
"Consequently, the complaint falls outside the IOC ethics commission's
jurisdiction," the statement said.
The ethics body does not have independent powers to start investigations and
sanction officials, but can make recommendations to the IOC executive board
chaired by President Kirsty Coventry. She attended the World Cup final last
Sunday at East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Action has been taken against just one IOC member in the past eight years for
unethical conduct: Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah, a key power broker who built
a reputation as the "kingmaker" of Olympic elections.
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
