The Football Association of Norway has taken a serious step against the leadership of FIFA, officially notifying the competent authorities of the world football headquarters about the actions of President Gianni Infantino.
The Norwegian Federation is the first to file official complaints against the Swiss, and at the forefront of criticism from the Scandinavian country is again Lise Klavenes. The president of Norwegian football has long been among the most vocal opponents of the way FIFA is governed.
Already in the summer, Klavenes publicly called for Infantino to resign from his post. According to her, trust in the president of the international football headquarters has been seriously shaken due to the controversies surrounding the plans for partial commercialization and sale of rights related to the World Cup.
Now the Norwegians are taking the next step. The federation has filed two formal complaints against Infantino and FIFA, demanding an investigation into several cases related to the decisions and actions of the president of the headquarters.
The complaints cover three main topics. One is related to the awarding of the Peace Prize to Donald Trump. The second case concerns the controversial decision to overturn the suspension of American striker Folarin Balogun during the 2026 World Cup.
The third and most extensive issue concerns the project “FIFA Forward Enterprise“ and plans related to the possible sale of a share of the World Cup to investment funds.
According to the Norwegian side, these three cases should be examined by FIFA's independent bodies to determine whether all existing rules and procedures were followed in making the decisions.
The complaints have been sent to FIFA's Ethics and Compliance Committees. These structures will have to assess whether there are grounds for further investigation and whether Infantino's actions in the indicated cases were within his powers.
In essence, the Norwegian federation raises the question of whether the FIFA president did not use his official position in a way that could constitute a violation of the established rules. The three cases will be examined separately, with an assessment of the facts and circumstances for each of them.
Norway's move comes just a few days before the next meeting of the FIFA Council. The governing body of world football is due to meet on October 15 in Zurich, Switzerland.
The upcoming meeting of FIFA leaders is set to take place against a backdrop of serious questions being asked of President Infantino. It remains to be seen whether Norway's complaints will lead to a formal investigation and how the world football body will react.