Some may have assumed that the world football community had moved on from United States men’s national team forward Folarin Balogun being permitted to play against Belgium in a FIFA World Cup round-of-16 matchup after he was shown a red card during the United States’ 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the tournament’s prior round.
It turns out those individuals are wrong.
Norway plan to file ethics complaint over suspension of Folarin Balogun red card
In an interview with The Times, Norwegian Football Federation president Lise Klaveness confirmed that she plans to pursue a formal ethics complaint over the suspension of Balogun’s ban related to the red card.
“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,” Klaveness said, as shared by ESPN. “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 behavior and the organization’s behavior, and also the red line of what states’ leaders should interfere with. And that happened.”
It became known that President Donald Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to ask for a review of the suspension that Balogun received after his right foot landed on the leg of Bosnia-Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic, which caused Muharemovic’s ankle to turn. While Balogun’s action seemed unintentional, some pointed out that “intent doesn’t matter” regarding such a dangerous play.
Despite having Balogun available, the United States suffered a 4-1 loss to Belgium.
“When there has been an external, very powerful voice in your ear, it’s very important that you have more voices making the decision,” Klaveness said. “If you don’t, it’s a mistake.”
Why FIFA cannot sweep the Folarin Balogun matter “under the carpet”
ESPN’s Sam Marsden noted that LaLiga president Javier Tebas called for Infantino to resign. Meanwhile, Klaveness said that FIFA cannot sweep the Balogun matter “under the carpet” because “too many” members of the football community remain bothered by what occurred.
“This case was so serious and so worrying that I hope that it might contribute to bring people out a little bit and don’t fear to bring up cases,” Klaveness added. “I will bring it to a board meeting and discuss with my board, and then we do it. To me, it should be in the same sphere of ethical complaint.”
In short, Infantino likely hasn’t heard the last about the most controversial decision made during a World Cup that otherwise could be viewed as a massive success for FIFA and for the popularity of football in the United States.