The last has surely not been heard about the infamous decision by FIFA to ‘suspend’ a red card shown to USA’s Nigerian-born striker, Folarin Balogun at the recent World Cup, as Norway’s football governing body has raised fresh complaints about the controversial decision.
READ ALSO: Folarin Balogun’s Red Card Controversy Keeps UEFA President Away From 2026 World Cup Final
Sports247 reports that, though the incident is now two weeks in the past and they were not directly affected, Norway have threatened to lodge an official complaint about the red card saga, which started when Balogun was sent off against Bosnia-Herzegovina, but was cleared by FIFA to play the next game versus Belgium.
The latest complaint is coming from Norway’s football federation president, Lise Klaveness, who reckoned that it was ethically wrong for US president, Donald J. Trump to call FIFA boss, Gianni Infantino regarding Balogun’s sending off, and the diecision was then ‘suspended.’
While Trump’s intervention eventually saw Balogun cleared to play the next game versus Belgium, the affected country and the continent’s governing body, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) both lodged official complaints to FIFA, which Klaveness has now hinted that Norway will also do.
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.”
