Norwegian football federation backs complaint against FIFA’s peace prize for Trump

The Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) has formally backed a complaint against FIFA President Gianni Infantino over the organization’s decision to award a peace prize to US President Donald Trump, saying the move undermined FIFA’s commitment to political neutrality.

The NFF said on Tuesday that it has submitted a letter supporting a complaint filed with FIFA’s ethics committee over Infantino’s decision to present FIFA’s inaugural peace prize to Trump during the draw for the 2026 World Cup in December.

The complaint, originally lodged by human rights group FairSquare, asks whether FIFA’s leadership violated the governing body's neutrality rules by honoring a highly controversial political figure while maintaining increasingly close ties with the US administration.

NFF president Lise Klaveness said the federation's intervention had already generated unease within international football circles.

“We have sent it, and it is causing some political reactions,” Klaveness told reporters, adding, “But it is sent, and that is checked off. We will follow up, push forward, request meetings, and build momentum on this as soon as the World Cup is over.”

She noted that FIFA officials raised concerns about the move during recent discussions, stressing, “There is no doubt that the letter is perceived as problematic when it comes from a member association.”

The controversy stems from FIFA's unexplained decision to award Trump a peace prize on December 6, at a time when Trump and members of his administration were publicly promoting the idea that he should receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Critics argue that the award blurred the line between sport and politics and reflected Infantino's growing alignment with the US president ahead of the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

FIFA has never publicly clarified the criteria or process used to select Trump for the honor.

Klaveness said Norway chose to act independently despite receiving encouragement from other football associations.

“We have received support from other federations, but we are sending this letter alone,” she stressed.

Klaveness also explained why the NFF did not seek signatures from other federations.

“I think others (federations) knew that they could sign it if they wanted to. We concluded that it was useless to put pressure on anyone, it would just create friction.”

‘Narcissistic psychopath’: Netizens mock Trump over letter to Norway PM on Nobel Prize

Online critics erupted after Trump linked Greenland to his failed Nobel Peace Prize bid, calling the letter absurd and narcissistic.

The ethics complaint has intensified scrutiny of FIFA's neutrality and raised fresh questions about the organization's relationship with political power.

Trump received FIFA’s so-called peace prize despite the United States’ continued supply of weapons and military equipment to Israel, which have been used in the ongoing genocide against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank.

Less than three months later, on February 28, a US-Israeli military coalition launched an unprovoked war of aggression against Iran that lasted 40 days and claimed the lives of several thousand people across the Islamic Republic.

The Israeli regime, armed with US-made weapons and bombs, has also carried out an extensive campaign of killing and destruction in southern Lebanon over the past several weeks.

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