FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 5, 2025
Media Contact: Melissa Garriga | [email protected]
CODEPINK Calls Foul on FIFA Awarding “Peace Prize” to Donald Trump
Protesters Pointed Out Hypocrisy, Warn of ICE Harassment at Future World Cup Events
WASHINGTON — Today, CODEPINK, alongside allied groups, staged a protest outside the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts during the 2026 World Cup draw, where FIFA President Gianni Infantino awarded President Donald Trump with FIFA’s newly created “Peace Prize.”
Dressed as soccer referees, CODEPINK activists threw “Red Cards for War Crimes,” listing various war crimes. Soccer balloons covered in blood and banners reading “Ice Out of our Cities, Troops Out of Everywhere” and “No Peace Prize for War Crimes” were unveiled for those going into the draw to see.
“Awarding a ‘Peace Prize’ to Donald Trump is a foul against humanity. His legacy is one of division, ongoing conflicts across the Global South, and the terrorizing of immigrant communities in the US. FIFA is celebrating a man whose policies are the opposite of peace,” said CODEPINK DC organizer Olivia DiNucci.
Since Trump has been in office, the violence in Gaza has continued under the guise of a false ceasefire, the war in Ukraine still rages, and Trump is inching closer to a war on Venezuela based on lies of narco-terrorism to implement an undemocratic regime change. Recently, a new investigation into the Pentagon for a potential war crime under Trump’s administration for the extrajudicial murder of boaters off the coast of Venezuela.
“Today, we settled the score on this false peace,” DiNucci continued. “FIFA must live up to its own values of unity and fair play. The Trump administration betrays those values, and rewarding them signals tolerance for the harassment of the global soccer community.”
The coalition of organizations that organized the protest, including Free DC and Democratic Socialists of America, was also there to sound the alarm on the imminent danger posed to fans for the 2026 World Cup, which will likely have games hosted across the United States. “World Cup fans shouldn’t have to worry about ICE while watching the games,” the group stated, highlighting the likelihood of harassment by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal law enforcement targeting immigrant communities.
FIFA isn’t the only soccer organization under scrutiny for supporting war crimes and war criminals. CODEPINK is a partner in the Game Over Israel! - a campaign directed at the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), demanding that the executive authority ban Israeli soccer teams and players from the association due to the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Hundreds of football professionals, activists, and artists have petitioned the UEFA president, Aleksander Čeferin, to bring the issue to a vote. Before the “peace” deal brokered by the United States, the board was set to vote on the ban, with many speculating it would pass. However, the president took the vote off the table once the ceasefire was announced; however, to date, Israel is still committing war crimes. Since the ceasefire, an average of two Palestinian children have been killed daily by the IDF.
For more information about today’s action or about the Game Over Israel campaign, please contact Melissa at [email protected].
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