FIFA President Gianni Infantino, one of President Donald Trump’s closest allies in the sports world, is facing yet another controversy.

According to a report from The Times’ Martyn Ziegler, Infantino has been receiving a second salary tied to the 2026 World Cup that FIFA never made public. ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle has since confirmed that Infantino was paid $1.72 million in 2024 by FWC2026, the U.S.-based entity FIFA set up to run the tournament.

The lack of transparency could put Infantino in violation of FIFA’s own statutes. And it comes just months after his cozy relationship with Trump became one of the biggest storylines of the World Cup.

Infantino built close ties to Trump ahead of this summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and those ties took center stage during the tournament.

U.S. star Folarin Balogun was originally set to miss the Round of 16 match against Belgium, serving an automatic suspension for the red card he picked up in the previous game. But in a highly unusual move, FIFA announced just one day before the match that it was suspending his punishment, clearing him to play.

The decision quickly drew outrage across the sports world, especially after Trump confirmed that he had called Infantino and asked for the matter to be reviewed. The whole saga even led some Americans to start rooting for Belgium.

Both Trump and Infantino tried to downplay the role the phone call played in the final decision.

“Yes, I regularly discuss matters related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States, and on this matter, I did receive a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football stakeholders and business executives from around the world on many different issues,” Infantino wrote in a statement.

“During our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies. That is how FIFA’s system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold.”

“All I did, I asked for a review, cause I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump said, via Yahoo. “I didn’t tell them what to do, I can’t tell them what to do. … I think it was a committee that made the decision, and they made the right decision.”

However, The Times’ Martyn Ziegler reported that it wasn’t actually a committee that made the call. It was one man.

“There are 18 members of FIFA’s disciplinary committee but the unprecedented decision to lift Balogun’s automatic ban was taken by just one person – the chairman Mohammad Al Kamali of UAE. No one else was consulted,” Ziegler wrote.

UEFA, European soccer’s governing body and a longtime FIFA rival, called the decision “incomprehensible” and said it “crossed a red line.”

In the end, Belgium cruised past the United States with Balogun on the field, winning 4-1 and eliminating the Americans from the tournament. Several Belgian players were even seen mocking Trump on the field after the final whistle. U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino has since admitted that the whole episode changed “the entire energy” around his team.

Infantino’s Trump connections don’t stop there, either. Earlier this year, it was revealed that he had put together a plan to sell a 20% stake in the World Cup to outside investors led by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

The heads of UEFA, Concacaf, and the Asian Football Confederation demanded Infantino’s resignation over that plan.

According to the IRS Form 990 filed by FWC2026, Infantino received $1.72 million from the entity in 2024. That was on top of his regular FIFA salary and benefits, which totaled 4.274 million Swiss francs, or around $4.86 million, that year.

The extra money wasn’t disclosed in FIFA’s 2024 annual report. That’s a problem, because FIFA’s statutes require the president’s pay to be public.

“The individual compensation of the FIFA President, the members of the Council and the FIFA Secretary General shall be made public,” Article 43 of the statutes reads.

To make matters worse, The Times’ investigation also includes “claims he used the money to fund luxury Miami lifestyle.”

Miguel Maduro, the former chairman of FIFA’s governance committee, didn’t hold back when asked about the payments.

Maduro told The Times that keeping the money under wraps “is a clear contravention of the rules if he is paid other amounts by companies related to FIFA and it is not made public.”

“The FIFA statutes impose an obligation of full transparency. It is not appropriate for the FIFA compensation sub-committee to authorize other forms of remuneration,” Maduro said. “I agree the president of FIFA needs to be very well paid, but that needs to be transparent.”

Unsurprisingly, FIFA denies doing anything wrong.

“FIFA does not pay a second salary to the FIFA President and complies with all reporting requirements in relation to compensation. The FIFA President’s annual compensation, as well as other contractual benefits, are decided by the independent Compensation Sub-Committee,” a FIFA spokesperson told ESPN.

“FIFA strongly rejects any claims that it has failed to disclose any financial information and has violated FIFA’s Statutes. FIFA accounts are independently audited, and all declarations are in line with tax regulations in Switzerland, the United States and elsewhere.”

The FIFA Council is scheduled to meet Thursday in Zurich. Clearly, Infantino could have some explaining to do.