Gianni Infantino is under heavy scrutiny after lifting Folarin Balogun’s suspension amid Donald Trump’s involvement. Many critics are calling for his resignation, accusing him of allowing the POTUS to influence World Cup decisions.
Critics argue that Trump’s reported intervention has pushed FIFA into its biggest governance controversy in years
Balogun received a red card after a video review determined he had stepped on an opponent’s ankle during the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Following this, Trump said he spoke with FIFA President Gianni Infantino. He explained, as quoted by Yahoo Sports, “Yes, I asked for a review by FIFA. I spoke to a man [Infantino] who is highly respected. I’m the one who got them to do it, not Biden. Biden was asleep.”
He said, “I saw the play. And I’m a person who loves sports and was a good athlete. And I understand sports really well. Really well. And that wasn’t a foul. That wasn’t even an infraction. That was two guys running full speed who happened to crash into each other. You can’t take your foot and properly place it on somebody else’s foot—these were two great athletes who got tangled up. And this referee, who is a little bit suspect, if you check his past … he made a call that nobody could believe, even people on the other side.”
Balogun, the 12th player to receive a red card in the tournament, will be the first not to serve a ban, reports BBC. The decision has faced strong backlash. UEFA said in a statement, as per The New Republic, that when the certainty of rules is “no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined.”
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who stepped down after a corruption scandal and was replaced by Infantino in 2016, wrote on X, “Red cards are not overturned by political phone calls. They are overturned by rules, evidence, and independent bodies. If a U.S. President intervenes with the FIFA President — and a player is suddenly cleared before a World Cup knockout match — the question is unavoidable: Quo vadis, FIFA? Football must never become a playground for political power.”
Former Sky Sports presenter Jeff Stelling urged Infantino to resign following the controversy, reports the Mirror. Stelling described the situation as “an absolute disgrace,” saying the focus should not be on whether the red card was justified but on how the authorities handled the decision. He said Gianni Infantino should resign immediately.
A fan from Cambridge criticized FIFA, saying supporters believe in fair play, but the organization appeared to abandon its own rules after Trump’s involvement. She accused Infantino of acting more like “Trump’s fan club president” than a guardian of world football and called for him to resign.
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Originally reported by Meenakshi Sengupta for Reality Tea
