Uefa has accused Fifa of crossing “a red line” after the world governing body made the “incomprehensible and unjustifiable” decision to lift USA striker Folarin Balogun’s suspension for Monday’s last-16 tie against Belgium – a dramatic escalation that Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin has effectively turned into a declaration of war. Perhaps the only globally renowned figure more conspicuously absent from this World Cup than Donald Trump, the Guardian notes, has been Ceferin himself – until now. Trump, meanwhile, confirmed he held talks with Fifa president Gianni Infantino as the controversy erupted.
The Balogun decision shattered a fragile truce between the two bodies that had held since May 2025, when European delegates – including Ceferin and Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt – walked out of the Fifa congress in protest at Infantino’s late arrival from a summit with world leaders including Trump and Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. The tension dates back to 2018, when Infantino proposed an expanded Club World Cup that finally took place in the US last year. With Uefa generating almost €5bn (£4.27bn) annually from the Champions League – a figure set to rise by about 20% – and Fifa seeking a slice of club revenues, the underlying conflict has only intensified. Both Ceferin and Infantino face re-election next year, leading to a temporary ceasefire that the Balogun decision has now demolished.
“Uefa accuses Fifa of crossing a red line by lifting Folarin Balogun's suspension, escalating a bitter feud.”
The USA striker was initially suspended but Fifa overturned the ban, making him available for the knockout match against Belgium. Uefa’s statement, endorsed by Ceferin, condemned the move as an attack on the integrity of the sport. The analysis from the Guardian suggests this could have major implications for the future of football, with European football now on a war footing against the world governing body.