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FIFA chief Gianni Infantino has defended the decision to reprieve US World Cup star Folarin Balogun amid growing calls for his immediate resignation, with other nations set to follow in America’s footsteps.
Balogun, the US team’s outstanding player at the World Cup, had been set to miss the last-16 game against Belgium in Seattle on Tuesday AEST after receiving a red card in the victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina in the previous round.
But on Sunday, FIFA said it was suspending the card, allowing Balogun to play against Belgium, sparking a furore.
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The uproar showed no signs of abating with just hours to go until the kickoff of the biggest game in the history of American soccer.
FIFA also dismissed Belgium’s appeal over the decision as “inadmissible”. Belgium’s football association said earlier it had “still not received any decision or any explanation from FIFA regarding this matter”.
Under pressure to explain FIFA’s decision to allow Balogun to play, Infantino insisted on Monday that his organisation’s disciplinary process was independent and he could not influence it.
That came after US President Donald Trump confirmed he had contacted Infantino directly about the red card.
Trump told reporters at the White House he had called Infantino, with whom he has built a close relationship, “because I didn’t think it was a foul”.
“All I did was ask for a review, I didn’t say you have to do this,” Trump added.
“Yes, I asked for a review by FIFA” | 01:29
Infantino said he had explained to Trump that “there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies”.
The football chief said he always read the decisions handed down and “sometimes I am surprised by them. Sometimes I agree with them, and sometimes I disagree”.
He added: “What I always do, however, is respect those decisions and the autonomy of the bodies that make them.”
The incident has set a worrying precedent – English Football Association is reportedly considering whether to appeal the red card Jarell Quansah received during the Round of 16 victory over co-hosts Mexico on Monday AEST, while France could do the same with Michael Olise’s second yellow card.
Elsewhere, former Sky Sports presenter Jeff Stelling has demanded that Infantino resign immediately.
“It’s an absolute disgrace,” he told talkSPORT.
“People are missing the point when they say ‘it may not have been a red card’. That’s irrelevant. It’s how the authorities have gone about this. Gianni Infantino needs to resign. He needs to resign today.”
He added: “He’s the man who came up with the great idea of the FIFA Peace Prize and gave it to his mate, Donald Trump. And of course his mate is the one who then tries to influence this decision and have this suspension overturned.”
European football’s governing body UEFA said FIFA had “crossed a red line” by allowing Balogun to play.
“Football, like any other sports, relies on rules, which are the basis for fair, honest and transparent competition. Sometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case not,” UEFA added.
It also warned of the ramifications for the sport as a whole.
“Football is the most loved sport in the world because it is a beautiful game and is trusted because is played everywhere with the same laws,” UEFA said.
“A tournament is never a pure standalone and, if the tournament in question is the World Cup, it has the power to drive positive or negative consequences on the game as a whole.”
Belgium coach Rudi Garcia said he thought it was an April Fool’s joke when he heard Balogun’s card had been suspended, while Norway coach Stale Solbakken said FIFA had made “a big mistake”.
Jurgen Klopp, who is set to be Germany’s next coach, also hit out, saying: “This is our game, not theirs… If Trump and Infantino really worked this all out between themselves, that’s crazy. It calls everything into question.”
Former England and Manchester United star Gary Neville said FIFA’s decision represented “a stain” on the World Cup.
“(Trump) rang up somebody at FIFA and asked them to change their mind, and lo and behold, an independent committee then changed their mind,” Neville said.
“It stinks.”
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who was replaced by Infantino in 2016 following a corruption scandal, wrote on X: “Red cards are not overturned by political phone calls. They are overturned by rules, evidence and independent bodies. If a US president intervenes with the FIFA president – and a player is suddenly cleared before a World Cup knockout match – the question is unavoidable: Quo vadis (where are you going), FIFA?”
Infantino said he often discussed events at the World Cup with Trump.
“I regularly discuss matters related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States, and on this matter, I did receive a call from President Donald Trump,” he said.
“Just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football stakeholders and business executives from around the world on many different issues.”
Infantino, a Swiss-Italian who has led FIFA since 2016, was a frequent visitor to the White House in the buildup to the World Cup.
Last year, he awarded Trump a newly created FIFA peace prize, which he presented to the president at the World Cup draw in Washington.
