FIFA President’s Private Jet Use Under Scrutiny
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FIFA President's Private Jet Use Under Scrutiny
- Swiss prosecutors dismissed allegations in March 2023 that FIFA President Gianni Infantino fraudulently used a private jet for a 2017 trip from Suriname to Geneva.
- Despite being cleared in that specific instance, Infantino's extensive use of private jets, including those allegedly linked to a Russian oligarch and Qatar Airways, has drawn ongoing criticism.
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Reports have detailed FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s use of private jets for various high-profile meetings and extensive travel. In 2016, shortly after becoming president, Infantino reportedly used a private jet, allegedly belonging to Leon Semenenko, a Russian billionaire and former business partner of Alisher Usmanov, for trips to meet Pope Francis, Vladimir Putin in Moscow, and officials in Qatar. FIFA’s ethics committee cleared Infantino in July 2016 of breaching conflict of interest rules regarding his private jet use.
In a separate incident, Swiss prosecutors launched criminal proceedings in 2020 to investigate allegations, among others, that Infantino improperly used a private jet for a 2017 flight from Suriname to Geneva. However, these allegations were dismissed by Swiss prosecutors in March 2023. Prosecutors accepted Infantino’s explanation that a scheduled flight had been canceled, necessitating the charter of a private jet for an important meeting. FIFA also stated that its own Ethics Committee had previously found the flight to be in line with internal compliance rules in August 2020.
Despite being cleared in the 2017 private jet probe, Infantino’s travel habits continue to attract attention. During the 2026 World Cup, he reportedly traveled over 50,000 kilometers on a private jet provided by Qatar Airways, a World Cup sponsor. This extensive travel, sometimes involving multiple matches in different cities on the same day, has been facilitated by private jet use.