FIFA Will Argue That the Rules in the Balogun Case Were Not Clear

The FIFA argument

FIFA will argue this Thursday at its Council meeting that the disciplinary rules were not clear in the case of American player Falorin Balogun, following its decision to suspend the red card he received at the World Cup after a call from the President of the United States, Donald Trump.

FIFA will argue this reason to defend its actions, given the controversy generated by its decision to suspend the sanction on Balogun, which allowed him to play against Belgium in the round of 16, and the requests to investigate the case from Belgium, UEFA, and MEPs, among others.

A change in the regulations

According to sources close to the FIFA Council, the organization is trying to modify the wording of Article 27 of the Disciplinary Code to retroactively justify its management and Trump's political interference, when the regulations clearly state that a red card automatically implies a minimum one-match suspension.

The regulations and the circulars issued over the past 20 years establish this principle, and that the suspension of the sanction can only be challenged in cases of confusion regarding the identity of the expelled player or for improper expulsions resulting from a serious and manifestly incorrect decision.

The Balogun case was one of the major controversies of the World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, won by Spain against Argentina, after it was revealed that the President of the United States, Donald Trump, called his counterpart at FIFA, Gianni Infantino, to ask him to review the action that led to Balogun's expulsion in the match against Bosnia, considering it was not a foul, as Trump himself acknowledged.

Denial of external influences

The FIFA Disciplinary Committee denied having received any interference in making its decision and explained on July 6 that it had not revoked the expulsion suffered on the 1st by Folarin Balogun, although it clarified that it had declared it suspended and under probation.

The disciplinary body imposed a fine of $40,000 on the player and a one-match suspension, but suspended it on probation for a year, which allowed him to play against Belgium in the round of 16 match, where the Belgians won 1-4.

Days after the elimination of the United States, forward Folarin Balogun admitted that when he was told that FIFA lifted his suspension to play against Belgium, he thought it was a "joke" and found it "unreal." EFE

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