Infantino Apologises to FIFA Council as Peace Prize Faces Review

Gianni Infantino apologised to the FIFA Council on Thursday, October 15, at a tense meeting in Zurich, but he gave his critics no documents on the World Cup sell-off plan that split world football. After three and a half hours, European leaders said their view had not changed, and the council agreed to review the peace prize he created and gave to President Donald Trump.

The 37-member council had not met since the crisis began. Infantino opened with an apology for blindsiding council members over his private investor plan, FIFA vice president Debbie Hewitt said afterwards, the Associated Press reported.

An apology, but no paperwork

The plan, revealed in media reports nine days after the World Cup final in July 2026, would have sold at least a 20 percent stake in a subsidiary holding tournament commercial rights to investors led by Joshua Kushner. The plan was valued at 4.2 billion dollars and was later dropped. European officials pressed Infantino for written evidence about the plan. He asked them to submit written questions instead, Hewitt said. She said Infantino has to answer those questions, and that a president who does not answer them is not fit to be FIFA president.

Bernd Neuendorf, one of eight UEFA delegates on the council, said no satisfactory answers were provided. He said FIFA needs a person of integrity who can restore the reputation of the association. UEFA is leading efforts to remove Infantino before or at the FIFA presidential election next March, and it has asked United States courts for evidence for a Swiss criminal complaint alleging possible mismanagement of FIFA finances in the valuation.

Pressure grew this week after The Times reported a United States tax filing listing a payment of about 1.72 million dollars to Infantino in 2024 from the World Cup organising body. FIFA denies it was a second salary.

Peace prize sent for review

FIFA announced the peace prize in November 2025, weeks after the Nobel committee passed Trump over. Infantino presented the first prize to Trump in December 2025 at the World Cup draw in Washington. The award drew wide criticism. A human rights group filed a complaint with the FIFA ethics committee over political neutrality, the Norwegian Football Federation raised the matter with the committee as well, and 50 members of the European Parliament called for a FIFA investigation. Several reports said Infantino did not tell the council before creating the prize.

On Thursday, the council sent the award to the FIFA Football Social Responsibility Committee, which will study how the prize came about and whether it should continue, and report to the next council meeting in December 2026. Sky Sports reported the prize is likely to be scrapped. Trump is its only recipient so far.

What else the council decided

The council also sent the Folarin Balogun case for review. FIFA suspended the United States striker's one-match ban during the World Cup, and council members want to know how the decision was reached and whether Trump intervened. The FIFA Legal Committee will review disciplinary procedures and report in December 2026.

FIFA also set out a plan to use its reserves to more than double funding for member associations in 2027 to 2030, to 6.35 billion dollars, about 25 million dollars each. That plan will also be examined in December 2026.