Infantino has a long-standing relationship with the US president, attending Trump’s inauguration back in January.
At Wednesday’s American Business Forum in Miami, Infantino was full of praise for Trump and his administration, saying: “we should all support what he’s doing because I think it’s looking good”.
Miguel Maduro, a former chairman of FIFA’s governance committee between 2016 and 2017, has since said the FIFA president’s comments are a clear breach of the rules regarding political neutrality.
Speaking to The Athletic, Maduro said: “A debate could take place on the extent to which such obligation should extend to political positions taken when FIFA officials act in a private capacity.
“However, that is clearly not the case of the statement in question. It was made in his capacity as president of FIFA in an event he clearly participated in as FIFA president.
“I think a president of FIFA can state that electoral results should be respected. But Infantino went beyond that.
“The final part of his statement does more than recognising the legitimacy of President Trump, it endorses his political programme and actions and argues others should support them too. He is taking a position in what is an internal political debate in the U.S.
“While he can recognise the legitimacy of President Trump, he should also recognise that in a democracy, others can oppose his policies.
“ To remain politically neutral requires not to take a position on that political debate, much less to argue that all should support President Trump’s policies.
“To do so appears a clear violation of the duty of political neutrality imposed on any FIFA official by Article 15 of its Code of Ethics.”