FIFA was plunged into crisis on Monday as calls for president Gianni Infantino to resign grew louder, with football united in fury after the decision to overturn a red card ban for US striker Folarin Balogun.
“If Infantino had any sense of shame, he would resign,” lifelong England fan Ray Harada, 67, said. “If FIFA’s own rules can be bent after one phone call from Donald Trump, then what is the point of having rules at all?”
“Infantino faces resignation calls after overturning Balogun's red card ban following Trump's phone call.”
The controversy erupted after Trump and Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House’s World Cup task force, spoke to Infantino by phone about Balogun’s red card. The striker had been sent off during the US victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina and was due to serve an automatic one-match ban for the last-16 tie against Belgium. But FIFA announced on Sunday that the punishment had been suspended, clearing the co-hosts’ leading goalscorer to play.
FIFA said the suspension was in line with “article 27 of the FIFA disciplinary code” and that the ban would be enforced if Balogun commits “another infringement of a similar nature and gravity” within one year. Of the 188 other red cards shown at World Cups, only one other player has escaped a suspension – Brazil’s Garrincha in 1962, before automatic bans were in place, in a case later shrouded in allegations of political interference.
UEFA, Europe’s governing body, accused FIFA of undermining the integrity of the World Cup. Belgium’s head coach, Rudi Garcia, likened the ruling to “April Fool’s Day” and insisted his federation was “defending football”. The Belgian federation may yet appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Trump celebrated the decision on Truth Social, writing: “Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right and reversing a great injustice.” He later turned his attention to England’s dramatic 3-2 win over co-hosts Mexico in Mexico City, with Harry Kane scoring a penalty and Jude Bellingham netting twice. “Harry Kane of England is a GREAT player!!!” Trump posted, in one of his rare comments on the World Cup.
Infantino defended his actions in a statement, saying he “regularly discuss[es] matters related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States” and that he “did receive a call from President Donald Trump” but that the decision was made by “FIFA’s independent judicial bodies”. The crisis shows no sign of abating, with football fans and officials questioning whether the sport’s rules can be bent by a single phone call.