Soccer-Norwegian FA files complaints with FIFA committees over peace prize, World Cup sell-off

The Norwegian Football Association (NFF) has made two parallel filings with two FIFA committees in relation to three recent issues that have caused significant ‌controversy in the global football community, it said on Tuesday. The Norwegians have made the filings with FIFA's committees on ethics and governance, according to a document seen by Reuters.

A FIFA spokesperson told Reuters that FIFA President Gianni Infantino had addressed the concerns expressed in the NFF complaints in a letter to ‌member associations in September, in which the 56-year-old administrator said he would be open to an independent review of decision-making in soccer's global ‌ruling body. The filings, however, mark the NFF's most formal challenge yet to the leadership of Infantino, escalating long-standing tensions over governance and transparency within FIFA.

"The first filing is a complaint to the FIFA Ethics Committee. It asks the Ethics Committee to examine the conduct of FIFA President Gianni Infantino and any other individuals identified through the investigation for potential breaches ⁠of FIFA’s ​Code of Ethics," the NFF said ⁠in a statement. "The second filing is a referral to FIFA’s Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee (“GACC”). It asks whether FIFA’s governance, financial oversight, internal controls and decision-making processes have worked as ⁠intended."

THREE INCIDENTS The NFF said the filings related to three separate incidents -- the FIFA Peace Prize, the lifting of a suspension on US forward Folarin Balogun during the ​World Cup, and the abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project that would have allowed investors to purchase minority stakes in FFE which was ⁠going to run FIFA tournaments, including the World Cup.

"NFF has for several years raised questions about governance, transparency and separation of powers within FIFA. These filings are a natural continuation of ⁠NFFs ​commitment to the governance of international football," the statement said. "The purpose is to raise these issues formally with the appropriate bodies, to have them examined, relevant evidence obtained and accountability for the conclusions reached."

The complaint to the Ethics Committee is expected to be evaluated by the body's investigatory ⁠chamber, while the GACC is being asked to use its existing oversight powers to review the governance and institutional issues raised by the three ⁠matters, the NFF said. The FIFA spokesperson ⁠said the matters raised by the NFF were on the agenda for the FIFA Council meeting due to be held on October 15 in Zurich.

Item 6 of the agenda is a governance and financial review which ‌will specifically address the ‌FFE proposal, as well as disciplinary procedures and the organisation's governance framework.