BRUSSELS — Dozens of European lawmakers are gathering support to open an investigation in the European Parliament of FIFA boss Gianni Infantino over his involvement in the decision to permit U.S. striker Folarin Balogun to play against Belgium in the World Cup despite an earlier red card.
Balogun was shown a red card during the U.S. victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina in the World Cup on July 1, which normally would make him ineligible to play in the team’s next game, but FIFA lifted his suspension for a match on Monday after President Trump intervened with Infantino on behalf of the 25-year-old striker.
European Parliament lawmakers Barry Andrews, Lara Wolters and Niels Fuglsang said in a joint statement that the decision by soccer’s world governing body to “change the rule on red card suspensions mid-tournament is a disgrace and a perversion of justice.”
“Once again, we’ve seen Infantino and FIFA surrender to the demands of the Trump administration,” the statement said.
The lawmakers are asking the national football associations of the EU countries to spur the FIFA Ethics Committee to investigate Infantino and whether pressure from the Trump administration was a factor in the lifting of the suspension, as well as “other potential breaches of political neutrality” such as awarding Mr. Trump the newly created FIFA Peace Prize.
Mr. Trump confirmed Monday that he called Infantino and warned that taking out a prominent U.S. player would have “stained” the event being co-hosted by the U.S.
“I saw the play,” Mr. Trump said in the Oval Office hours before the big game. “That wasn’t a foul. That wasn’t even an infraction. That was two guys running full speed who happened to run into each other.”
“All I did [is] I asked for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul,” he said. “I can’t tell them what to do.”
FIFA has said the lifting of the suspension was the decision of a disciplinary committee.
The lawmakers said 35 colleagues have signed the letter.
“The beauty of sport is that it is based on impartial and transparent rules. When Infantino allows political pressure to determine who gets to play, this sense of fairness goes out the window,” they said.
The Belgium team, clearly fired up by the furor, won 4-1.
Infantino also is being referred to Olympic ethics investigators for a possible breach of political neutrality, a human rights group said Wednesday.
The International Olympic Committee cites neutrality among “fundamental principles of Olympism” for sports bodies such as FIFA and has jurisdiction over Infantino since he joined its group of 100-plus invited members in 2020.
“FairSquare will file a complaint to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regarding FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s repeated breach of political neutrality rules,” the London-based sports and human rights NGO said.
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