Australian Irvine Criticizes FIFA Trump Peace Prize

Australian midfielder Jackson Irvine criticized FIFA's decision to award U.S. President Donald Trump its inaugural Peace Prize, calling the move a mockery of the organization's human rights commitments ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which the United States is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico.

The prize was presented to Trump by FIFA President Gianni Infantino during the World Cup draw ceremony in December. Infantino described it as recognition for someone who had taken "exceptional and extraordinary actions" for peace and united people across the world. Trump accepted the honor, stating he had "saved millions and millions of lives." In February, Infantino defended the award, saying Trump "objectively deserves it" for his role in securing a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Irvine, a 33-year-old St. Pauli midfielder with 80 caps for Australia and a senior advocacy role in the global players' union FIFPro, spoke out in an interview with Reuters. "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...