KEIR RADNEDGE REPORTS: A complaint against FIFA president Gianni Infantino has been dismissed by the International Olympic Committee.
The complaint is reported to have been registered against Infantino, an IOC member, by the Swiss management company Sport 7 where a principal partner is his serial pursuer Philippe Renz.
This IOC verdict has no bearing on Infantino’s status as the subject of a Swiss criminal investigation into his meetings with the former Attorney-General Michael Lauber. Infantino has denied all wrongdoing in a case launched after anonymous complaints to federal authorities.
Last October the IOC indicated that Infantino and FIFA were the targets of three protests concerning their overseeing of the international transfer market.
The IOC executive board, in a postal vote, accepted recommendations from its ethics committee that it had no jurisdiction over the regulatory management within any particular sport.
An IOC statement said:
The IOC Ethics Commission noted that the complaint relating to the players’ transfer market is in no way connected with the relations between the IOC and FIFA, but rather with the management of this organisation, which is the exclusive remit of the International Federation.
Therefore, the complaint regarding FIFA falls outside of the scope of both the IOC and its Ethics Commission.
With regard to Mr Gianni Infantino, IOC Member and FIFA President:
Mr Gianni Infantino, in his capacity as an IOC Member since 2020, falls under the scope of application of the IOC Code of Ethics at all times and in all circumstances.
Concerning the allegations regarding the management of FIFA and in particular the players’ transfer market also made against Mr Gianni Infantino, the IOC Ethics Commission noted that the complaint referred only to a general analysis linked with the management of this International Federation, which is outside the scope of application of the IOC Code of Ethics.
Therefore, in the absence of evidence of any specific facts of which Mr Gianni Infantino could be personally accused, the IOC Ethics Commission recommended that the complaint shall be rejected.
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