FOOTBALL – FIFA President Gianni Infantino defended world football’s disciplinary process yesterday amid an international wave of criticism after US President Donald Trump praised Fifa’s decision to suspend Folarin Balogun’s World Cup red-card ban, and as the controversy spilled over into politics.
Infantino said Fifa’s judicial bodies operated “independently and autonomously” and that he had told Trump the Balogun case was subject to an ongoing legal process, even as the US President described the decision to reinstate the United States striker as “brilliant” after personally urging Fifa to review the case.
The affair has become the tournament’s biggest controversy, drawing condemnation from European football body Uefa, which said Fifa had “crossed a red line”, the Royal Belgian Football Association, several national federations as well as senior coaches, officials and politicians, with critics arguing Fifa had undermined confidence in its own disciplinary system.
It also prompted the Belgians, who were to play the US early this morning for a place in the quarter-finals, to challenge Balogun’s eligibility for the match but their appeal was rejected by Fifa.
The player was sent off for a tackle during the US win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, a punishment that usually carries an automatic one-match ban.
For Uefa the decision to suspend the ban was wrong.
Several national football federations have been equally critical of Fifa’s decision.
“The decision in the Balogun case is incomprehensible to the Swiss Football Association (SFA), regardless of how it came about,” the Swiss FA, whose team are in the World Cup round of 16, said.
“This decision raises questions and creates uncertainty, particularly regarding the authority of referees’ decisions, especially when the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) is involved. The credibility of the competition depends on clear rules that are applied consistently,” it said.
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