"Decisions like that feel like they just set us back." Jackson Irvine isn't softening his language, and given what FIFA did in December, it's hard to argue he should.
The FC St. Pauli midfielder and Professional Footballers Australia Co-President has publicly branded FIFA's newly minted Peace Prize — awarded to Donald Trump by Gianni Infantino at the World Cup draw — "a mockery." The 33-year-old told Reuters the decision undermines FIFA's own human rights charter and widens the already yawning gap between football's governing body and the communities the sport is supposed to serve.
He's not alone. Norway FA president Lise Klaveness has called for the prize to be "abolished" outright, arguing FIFA has neither the mandate nor the governance infrastructure to hand out political awards independently. She's right on the mechanics: FIFA's own Council wasn't even consulted before Infantino announced the prize — something The Athletic reported at the time. That's not a procedural footnote. It tells you everything about how this decision was made.
Infantino's loyalty to Trump is becoming a liability
Infantino's remarks at the ceremony were something to behold. "You definitely deserve the first FIFA Peace Prize for your action... You can always count, Mr President, on my support, on the support of the entire football community." This was a FIFA president pledging personal allegiance to a sitting head of state — of the country hosting the tournament, no less. The conflict of interest practically writes itself.
The Peace Prize was created in November 2025, just weeks after Trump failed to receive the Nobel Peace Prize he'd been publicly pursuing. The timing alone should have disqualified the whole exercise. Instead, Infantino went ahead without council approval and handed Trump a trophy and medal on stage at the World Cup draw.
For a federation that publishes a human rights charter and talks endlessly about football as a "force for good," this is a credibility problem that won't go away quietly.
Irvine's LGBTQI+ concerns are specific — and pointed
Beyond the prize itself, Irvine raised direct concerns about the safety and visibility of LGBTQI+ fans and players at a tournament being held across the United States, Mexico, and Canada this summer. He was explicit: "In America, we're seeing more and more the rights of these communities put into... these people and rights are being taken away all over the country."
This isn't Irvine recycling a script. Four years ago he led his Socceroos teammates in recording a video calling out Qatar's treatment of same-sex couples and migrant workers before that World Cup. He followed through then. His words now carry weight because of that track record.
Australia are drawn in Group D alongside the USA, Paraguay, and Türkiye. Irvine opens his third World Cup on June 13 against Türkiye at BC Place in Vancouver — which means he'll be playing in the host nation while these debates are very much still live. Whether FIFA has any meaningful answer to them by then is a different question entirely.
