FIFA is facing calls to acknowledge misconduct over its decision to reverse U.S. Men's National Team striker Folarin Balogun's red card at the World Cup, with Norway preparing to lodge a formal complaint.
U.S. President Donald Trump publicly admitted intervening in the matter, which allowed Balogun to feature for the USMNT against Belgium in the Round of 16, despite having been dismissed during their victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the previous match.
Trump hailed FIFA for "reversing a great injustice", yet his involvement sparked allegations that world football's governing body had violated its political neutrality regulations. The U.S. President personally contacted FIFA president Gianni Infantino by phone to discuss the matter - something Lise Klaveness, president of the Norwegian Football Federation, insists should never have occurred, via The Mirror.
Klaveness has already voiced opposition to FIFA presenting its inaugural Peace Prize to Trump, and describes the Balogun incident as "so serious and so worrying". "To try to sweep this under the carpet now will not fly," she warned.
Klaveness told The Times: "When you bend a rule like this, you're on a slippery slope that will put the whole game at risk. It is a worry for the game when you compromise fundamental rules of the game.
"First of all, it should not have happened. It is very important now to have honest communication around it. We all know that this verdict was influenced from external forces and did not have the proper process.
"We need our leader in FIFA to say that this was an error. If you start to adapt in such a way towards state leaders and state politics, you will move your behaviour and the organisation's behaviour, and also the red line of what states' leaders should interfere with. And that happened."
Should she secure the support of her board, Klaveness intends to add the Balogun case to her complaint regarding the Peace Prize. If the process moves forward, it will be referred to FIFA's independent ethics committee to investigate any potential violations.
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Reports indicate that the decision to overturn Balogun's suspension was made unilaterally by the chairman of FIFA's disciplinary committee, Mohammad al-Kamali, without consulting the remaining committee members.
Infantino was compelled to release a statement clarifying FIFA's procedures and his conversation with Trump amid the ensuing controversy.
"FIFA's judicial bodies are independent," he said. "They operate autonomously, apply the FIFA Disciplinary Code, and decide cases based on the applicable regulations and the specific facts before them. Their independence is essential to the credibility and integrity of football, and this must always be respected.
"All I did was ask for a review. I didn't say, you have to do this," Trump explained at the time. "This man is a smart, tough man, Gianni Infantino. He's a smart, tough man, and his stock has gone through the roof because the job he has done has been great. I feel like we have to have all the best players on the field."
Source: Alloutsoccer.com
