- National vice-captain blasted FIFA move with President
Socceroos vice-captain Jackson Irvine has blown the whistle on FIFA’s decision to hand its inaugural peace prize to US President Donald Trump.
The German-based midfielder says the decision undermines FIFA’s own Human Rights Policy.
International football’s governing body, spearheaded by Gianni Infantino, honoured Trump at the men’s World Cup draw in December last year after he was overlooked by the Nobel Foundation in October.
Infantino said Trump delivered ‘peace and unity’ ahead of the US co-hosting the 2026 tournament with Canada and Mexico, in what is set to shatter records as the most expensive sporting event to attend in history.
Trump ordered the kidnap of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro a month after the draw and – without direct congressional approval – began joint air strikes with Israel on Iran on February 28.
‘As an organisation, you would have to say decisions like the one that we saw awarding this peace prize makes a mockery of what they’re trying to do with the human rights charter and trying to use football as a global driving force for good and positive change in the world,’ Irvine told Reuters.
Socceroos player Jackson Irvine (pictured with wife Jemilla Pir) has taken aim at FIFA for its decision to hand its inaugural peace prize to US President Donald Trump
Irvine (pictured) described the award for the President as a ‘mockery’
‘Decisions like that feel like they just set us back in the perceived market of what football currently is, especially at the top level where it’s becoming so disconnected from society and the grassroots of what the game actually is and means in our communities and in the world.’
Trump took to Truth Social on March 13 and said that he could not promise the safety of the Iran national team, whose group stage matches against New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt are scheduled on US soil.
The 33-year-old St Pauli captain – a Hamburg-based club renowned for its progressive stance – has long been vocal about humanitarian issues.
Irvine and 15 other players called for the decriminalisation of same-sex relationships in a video prior to Qatar hosting the 2022 World Cup.
He called for Trump to ensure the safety of minority groups ahead of the tournament in June.
‘It’s not an issue just in the Middle East, in America we’re seeing more and more of the rights of these communities … being taken away all over the country,’ he said.
‘We have to sincerely hope that we see a lot of open support in that space as well.’
Irvine also took aim at the English Football Association’s ban on transgender women in women’s football, describing the decision as hypocritical.
Donald Trump (pictured) was given the award by FIFA boss Gianni Infantino late last year
Irvine (pictured) is known for speaking out about humanitarian issues
The Socceroo, who is the captain of German Bundesliga team St Pauli, expressed his frustration with the recent decision from the FA.
The decision, announced in May last year, impacts grassroots players who had been allowed to participate under the previous policy.
The FA made the move after the UK Supreme Court ruled that the words ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act refer to a biological woman and biological sex.
Irvine reacted to the decision by posting on social media: ‘Football deserves better. Our game is for everyone.’
