FIFA’s Gianni Infantino accused of ‘abuse of power’ over VIP perks given to wife and children at Miami airport, experts say

FIFA boss Gianni Infantino has been accused of “abuse of power” after the group booked VIP escorts to Miami airport for the football big cat’s wife and daughters, including a trip with their dogs, according to sources and official documents.

His wife and daughters appear 125 times in Miami International Airport protocol logs since January 2024, according to documents published in The Post newspaper. The diaries contain 95 records, many of which list more than one family member.

On 63 of them, Gianni has no entry for these dates. His wife, Leena Infantino, shows up 46 times, almost twice as often as her globe-trotting husband, who appears 24 times.

The Post has seen internal correspondence at the airport showing FIFA demanding the red carpet treatment for daughters Alessia, Sabrina and Dahlia for a trip to Doha “with their dogs”.

Airport spokesman Greg Chin confirmed that FIFA had made the requests. Infantino runs a non-governmental organization and the staff was free, so “the service was granted,” Chin said.

This could be an ethical headache for FIFA, two of Europe’s leading sports governance experts told the Post. Its code prohibits civil servants from using their employment “for private gain or gain.”

Antoine Duval, of the TMC Asser Institute in The Hague, said it “could constitute an abuse of power” under the code if Infantino asked FIFA to organize his family’s private trip.

This would constitute “an improper use of FIFA resources for personal gain,” said Duval, a senior sports law researcher.

Under the basic rules of good governance, “this is an abuse of position, an abuse of power,” said Arnout Geeraert of Utrecht University in the Netherlands, who once chaired Belgian football’s integrity panel.

The Post contacted the State Department, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, for comment.

A FIFA spokesperson said: “Requests for port courtesy were made to Miami International Airport (MIA), on the advice of a former advisor to the FIFA President. Port courtesy is provided at no cost to the FIFA President given his position as head of an association or NGO. Members of Mr Infantino’s family also have the right to request these services under the FIFA ‘Port Courtesy Manual’ MIA and these are also provided free of charge, on a case-by-case basis, at MIA’s discretion.”

The Swiss-Italian sports boss spent more time in Miami ahead of the World Cup, where FIFA has an office. The Infantino family resides in a celebrity-filled apartment on Biscayne Boulevard, where David Beckham once owned a soft cushion.

Gianni’s VIP pass covered the entire clan, official documents show.

Under current airport rules, a protocol officer expedites VIP check-in. The agent can request a special security lane and line up for early boarding.

“Standard practice” is to escort guests directly “to the aircraft door.” If a gate agent hesitates, staff should remain calm and avoid “drawing unnecessary attention to the customer.”

When arriving from abroad, an agent guides VIPs through the “diplomatic route” to immigration. An electric cart can bring them to the sidewalk.

Chin insisted that escorts could not skip any customs or security checks. Every VIP request for a flight from abroad goes to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for review, he said.

He did not specify whether authorities had been informed that the FIFA boss was not on the plane.

Miami airport regulations list 27 VIP seats, ranging from Supreme Court justices to school board members. Presidents and Cabinet Ministers may bring their “travel parties.”

The word “spouses” appears only once – next to heads of diplomatic missions.

Infantino is a perfect fit for NGO bosses. It says nothing about the eligibility of family, loved ones or pets.

Chin pointed to a part of the regulation that shows anyone not on the official list is subject to review “on a case-by-case basis.” The Protocol Division Director or designee must approve each request.

The only test, he added, is the VIP list categories and whether enough staff are free. The office processes more than 5,000 applications a year, officials said.

A separate State Department escort program places stricter limits on its own VIP courtesies. Its rules allow the escort of a foreign minister’s spouse and children under 12, but only when traveling with the minister.

“Other family members are not eligible,” the guidelines state. The ministry’s protocol manual adds that children of a qualified dignitary “flying independently are not eligible” for VIP port benefits.

A former White House official who managed arrivals of federal figures told the Post that the arrangement constitutes a blatant misuse of government resources that would leave career protocol officers “disgusted.”

“It seems a bit like abuse,” the senior source said on condition of anonymity. “These favors are offered as part of a larger political process. They are intended to be reserved for higher honors.”

Josh Paul, a former diplomat and State Department director, added that the benefits “are not intended to be gifts.”

But the airport says nothing stops it from serving families traveling alone. The VIP service runs on airport money, not county property taxes, as the county budget shows.

The red carpet treatment wasn’t limited to his wife and children. Infantino’s sisters, Daniela and Mirella, achieved this advantage twice during the World Cup. The newspapers labeled them “Guest of the President,” not family.

The gravy train reached its maximum speed during the tournament. In 39 days, the Infantinos accumulated 15 VIP records.

Gianni is not on any of them. On July 9, two days before England faced Norway in the quarterfinals in Miami, newspapers labeled their daughters Sabrina and Shania Serena as “executive guests.”

In total, Dahlia appears 29 times, Alessia 25 times, Sabrina 18 times, and Shania Serena seven times. Out of 11 recordings, girls were recorded without any entry for either parent.

Yet neither expert expects FIFA to act. The Zurich-based body could call VIP escorts “standard protocol for security reasons,” Geeraert noted. He called the ethics committee a “notorious black box.”

Duval said “many” complaints against Infantino “were buried” by the panel’s investigators. He “wouldn’t bet on a serious FIFA investigation into ‘Infantino’ until he’s a lame duck.”

The panel’s independence “is hardly guaranteed,” Duval said. Its members are elected by the FIFA Congress – “the majority of which is controlled by Infantino”.

In a company, “shareholders would react to something like that,” Geeraert said. But FIFA responds to the football federations. Most, he said, would ask, “So what’s the problem here?”

While Infantino’s status as a global sports leader requires expedited airport security and logistical support for his own travel, standard diplomatic guidelines do not account for the broad extension of this advantage.

There is no clear safety rationale for the dozens of times the protocol has been used by his family members and unaccompanied pets.

This is the latest setback for the 56-year-old, who is seeking a new four-year term in March.

The embattled football boss remains locked in a bitter civil war with UEFA. Infantino has faced fierce backlash in Europe over his proposals to expand mega-dollar tournaments and his clashes with the sport’s traditional power brokers.

The Post revealed Monday that Infantino and his entourage used their contacts in the Trump administration to obtain a new work permit for his Nicaraguan maid after her previous authorization was revoked. FIFA has largely denied, but has not addressed the involvement of one of its main collaborators in this affair.

The scandal emerged just weeks after this newspaper reported that Infantino had used FIFA money to hire a British public relations firm to promote his re-election bid. The Zurich organization also denied this story, but a Post reporter later obtained a leaked email confirming the truth of this story.

Last month, ESPN reported that he received an undisclosed $1.72 million in 2024 from the United States’ FIFA World Cup nonprofit. This was in addition to compensation worth approximately $4.9 million. FIFA said it “strongly rejects” the claims.

The day after the World Cup final in New Jersey, the Miami protocol office gathered Leena, Alessia, Dahlia, Sabrina and Shania Serena. Gianni was not on the list.