Australian international labels FIFA Peace Prize 'a mockery' ahead of World Cup

In a press release at the time, Infantino wrote, “In an increasingly unsettled and divided world, it’s fundamental to recognise the outstanding contribution of those who work hard to end conflicts and bring people together in a spirit of peace.

“Football stands for peace, and on behalf of the entire global football community, the FIFA Peace Prize – Football Unites the World will recognise the enormous efforts of those individuals who unite people, bringing hope for future generations.”

The inaugural recipient, Trump was awarded a trophy and medal by Infantino at the beginning of the World Cup draw in December, ahead of this summer’s tournament in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.

“This is what we want from a leader; A leader that cares about the people. We want to live in a safe world, in a safe environment. We want to unite – that’s what we do here today, that’s what we’ll do at the World Cup, Mr President,” Infantino said.

He went on to add, “You definitely deserve the first FIFA Peace Prize for your action, for what you have obtained in your way, but you have obtained it in an incredible way. You can always count, Mr President, on my support, on the support of the entire football community – or ‘soccer’ community – to help you make peace and make the world prosper all over the world.”

With the World Cup just over a month away, and with Australia drawn into Group D alongside the U.S. Men’s National Team, Paraguay, and Türkiye, Irvine spoke to Reuters about the Peace Prize, branding it “a mockery.”

He said, “As an organization, 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.

“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.”

This follows recent comments from the president of Norway’s football federation, Lise Klaveness, who made it clear that she believes the award should be “abolished.”

Irvine also expressed concern regarding the treatment of the LGBTQI+ community in America -Credit:Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images

“We don’t think it’s part of FIFA’s mandate to give such a prize. We think we have a Nobel institute that does that job independently already,” she said, via The Athletic.

“We think it’s important for football federations, confederations and FIFA to try and avoid situations where this arm’s length distance to state leaders are challenged. These prizes will typically be very political if you don’t have really good instruments and experience to make this independent.

“To have a jury and criteria is full-time work. It’s so sensitive. From a resource angle and from a mandate angle but, most importantly, from a governance angle, I think it should be avoided also in the future.”

As it pertains to this summer’s tournament, Irvine also expressed his specific concerns regarding the rights of those within the LGBTQI+ community.

He held similar worries four years ago ahead of the World Cup in Qatar, prompting him and his Socceroos teammates to record a video expressing their deep concerns regarding the country’s treatment of same-sex couples.

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The video also tackled the organizers’ treatment of the migrant workers constructing the tournament’s infrastructure.

Irving told Reuters, “I really hope that symbols, especially those around the LGBTQI+ community, are welcomed.

“It's not an issue just in the Middle East. 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.

“And we have to sincerely hope that we see a lot of open support in that space as well and across the board for all the social justice that we all want to fight for and the human rights that we want to see implemented, not just in the States, but everywhere.”

Irvine will compete in his third World Cup this summer, beginning on June 13 when Australia takes on Türkiye at BC Place in Vancouver.