The FIFA World Cup, hosted by United States, Canada and Mexico, is in full swing right now. The tournament has delivered everything so far, lots of excitement, close encounters, major upsets, some great performances from game’s biggest stars, and now, a controversy. Football governing body has decided to ignore its own rules, and behind that is a phone call from US President Donald Trump.
It all started during the Round of 32 clash between the United States and Bosnia-Herzegovina. US’s star striker and their top scorer in this world cup, Folarin Balogun was shown a Red Card and sent off during the game. Even though US held on to win and reach the Round of 16, Balogun was now suspended for the next game against Belgium.
Under FIFA’s disciplinary regulations, a player who receives a red card is automatically suspended for the team’s next match. Losing one of the team’s most important attacking players ahead of a crucial knockout fixture against a strong Belgian side was seen as a significant setback for the Americans.
While the US team was busy preparing for the game against Belgium expecting the Monaco striker to be unavailable, FIFA delivered a nice surprise to them. Without giving any reason, FIFA revoked the suspension of Balogun, making him eligible to play against Belgium. FIFA has not given any explanation till now why they chose to ignore their own rules and make an exception for Balogun.
While Football fans around the world were wondering why this surprise decision by FIFA, reports emerged from the US that have left people questioning the integrity of FIFA and the World Cup.
Only hours before the suspension was lifted, FIFA President Gianni Infantino had reportedly received a phone call from the White House. According to an Associated Press report, Balogun’s red card was discussed during the conversation, and FIFA was urged to reconsider the suspension. Soon after the call, Balogun’s Red Card was rescinded.
Donald Trump, who has been awfully quiet about the World Cup till now, welcomed FIFA’s decision on his social media platform, Truth Social, and wrote, “Thank you for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice.”
Notably, this is only the second instance in the history of the FIFA World Cup that a player will not miss the next match after receiving a Red Card. The only previous instance was in 1962 when Brazilian star Garrincha was not suspended for the next game after seeing Red. However, the rules at that time were such that a committee used to decide whether a player should be suspended for the next game or not, there was no automatic suspension.
However, the rules now clearly state that the player will be suspended for the next match if they receive a Red Card. FIFA, however, has decided to ignore its own rules, and Trump’s phone call to Infantino has raised plenty of questions.
Trump and Infantino are known to enjoy good relations, and was it a case of Infantino helping out a “friend”. Or did Donald Trump pressurise Infantino and FIFA into revoking the Red Card or does FIFA just want the host nation to do well so that local interest remains in the tournament and FIFA makes more money from the US market?
Balogun is a very important player for United States, if they have to get past a strong Belgian side, they need their star player to play. He wasn’t supposed to feature in this match, but now of course, after Trump’s intervention, the striker is all set to start the game.
Social media has been flooded with criticism, with many users questioning whether FIFA compromised its independence. Critics have asked whether the governing body bent its own rules to satisfy political pressure because the tournament is being hosted in the United States.
Others have speculated that Balogun’s importance to the American team may have influenced the decision. As one of the United States’ leading performers and the team’s top scorer with three goals in the tournament, his absence would have significantly weakened the hosts ahead of a crucial knockout match.
At present, however, there is no public evidence confirming why FIFA reversed the suspension, nor has the organization provided a detailed explanation addressing the concerns being raised.
Until FIFA offers a clear account of its decision-making process, questions will continue to surround one of the tournament’s most controversial disciplinary decisions.
