Thompson leaves FIFA committee following sexual assault trial

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City councilor Michael Thompson, who is currently on trial fighting sexual assault allegations against two women, has stepped down from his position on the city’s important FIFA committee.

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Royson James, Thompson’s chief advisor and communications strategist, confirmed the move on Friday.

“Last Wednesday (October 16), Councilor Michael Thompson called Mayor Olivia Chow to inform her that he wished to ‘step down’ from his duties as a member of the city’s FIFA committee,” the emailed statement read.

“Councilman Thompson is embroiled in legal proceedings and a court case that has no final end date. “He therefore felt it best to withdraw from this important committee to eliminate opportunities for media distractions that could impede the effectiveness of the committee.”

“Mayor Chow did not ask – and has not asked – for his resignation or for a change of status on the commission. She accepted the councilor’s request with the words: “If that’s what you wish.”

In an emailed statement earlier Friday, Chow said only: “On October 16, Michael Thompson notified me that he was leaving the FIFA commission.”

Thompson is a defendant in an Ontario Court of Justice lawsuit in which two women say they were sexually assaulted by him while vacationing at a Muskoka cottage on Canada Day weekend in 2022.

A Scarborough Center councilor pleaded not guilty.

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