A whistle‑blower has asked the IRS to probe whether a FIFA employee was secretly employed as Gianni Infantino’s housekeeper.
If the agency confirms the allegation, FIFA could lose its 501(c)(4) tax‑exempt status in the United States, a classification reserved for groups that promote charitable, educational or recreational welfare.
The filing claims that using organizational funds for personal household services raises serious questions about private benefit, financial reporting, compensation and governance, and it challenges the accuracy of employment, payroll, tax and immigration records. It urges investigators to examine the underlying documents. The IRS has not commented.
The allegation arrives as Democrats intensify scrutiny of FIFA’s activities, especially Infantino’s role in the failed FIFA Forward Enterprise scheme and his ties to the Trump administration after the midterm “blue wave.” A spokesperson for Rep. Jamie Raskin’s judiciary committee said the panel has not sought housekeeper documents but is “closely monitoring those developments.”
FIFA responded that any domestic staff costs are paid personally by the president, and that matters concerning his private life remain private.
Should the IRS take the case, the investigation could stretch for months, and findings are rarely published, though any action would become public. The complaint was filed by Washington‑based immigration lawyer Abed Ayoub, former national director of the American‑Arab Anti‑Discrimination Committee, which last year backed the “Game Over Israel” campaign to bar Israeli clubs from international play.
FIFA urged the press to act responsibly, noting that a coordinated effort seeks to undermine the organization and its leader. It welcomes legitimate scrutiny but warns that false or misleading reports will be challenged vigorously. For my money, the federation’s best move is full transparency.
Former FIFA chief Sepp Blatter once called Infantino a “dictator” who “no longer knows any borders,” telling Der Spiegel that the president’s handling of the FIFA Forward Enterprise scheme, the peace prize and the reversal of Folarin Balogun’s World Cup red‑card suspension were deeply problematic.
Blatter warned that “FIFA is suffering” under a leader who has “allowed himself to be blinded,” calling the peace prize “embarrassing” and questioning why Infantino would honor someone who later threatened Iran.
Assessing the abandoned FFE project, Blatter said Infantino “doesn’t understand any of this” and labeled the Balogun case “the worst,” insisting that while statutes may be interpreted, the rules of the game must apply equally to everyone. Will FIFA’s leadership survive the fallout?
A complaint urges the IRS to investigate a FIFA staffer allegedly serving as Infantino’s housekeeper.