Fifa president Gianni Infantino in clear over misconduct claims, ethics committee confirms

In the clear: Infantino has been found to have not breached Fifa's ethics code
FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images
James Benge5 August 2016

Fifa President Gianni Infantino has been cleared of possible ethics violations.

The governing body’s ethics committee confirmed in a statement that an extensive investigation of the President, elected in February, had found no evidence of misconduct.

An internal memo leaked to reporters said that Infantino had taken flights from the governments of World Cup hosts Russia and Qatar but these benefits were “not considered improper”, the committee confirmed.

"It was found that no violation of the FIFA Code of Ethics (FCE) had been committed by Mr Infantino," the ethics committee said in a statement.

It said investigations were carried out "diligently over several weeks" and included "a large number of interviews with witnesses and Mr Infantino himself."

In a statement from Fifa Infantino added that he "would like to thank all those who cooperated with the ethics committee to ensure that the facts were heard and the truth prevailed".

Football’s governing body has found itself in a near-permanent state of crisis since the United States’ attorney general began a wave of indictments of leading Fifa officials last year.

Infantino’s predecessor Sepp Blatter, banned for six years for ethics violations, was suspended in October, triggering an election in which the Swiss former Uefa official emerged victorious.

Investigations into the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup finals to Russia and Qatar continue.

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