European football associations condemn FIFA decision to lift U.S. forward Balogun suspension.

On Monday, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) released a statement sharply criticizing the decision by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) to suspend the sanction imposed on U.S. forward Folarin Balogun.

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That decision, which was made after FIFA received a phone call from U.S. President Donald Trump, has sparked questions about the integrity and credibility of the 2026 World Cup.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino acknowledged that the call took place and said Trump had requested a review of the sanction imposed on Balogun, which had prevented the player from appearing in Monday’s Round of 16 match between the United States and Belgium.

“I asked for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul, and you know, I keep saying I’m good at these things. I didn’t think it was a foul. I thought they were two great athletes who collided and got tangled up. It wasn’t someone hitting another person in the face or anything like that,” Trump said.

“Yes, I received a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football stakeholders and business executives from around the world on many different matters,” Infantino said, adding that the decision regarding Balogun was an “independent” ruling by FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee.

Trump destroyed the international order and rules.

Most people, “We don’t care about politics.”

Now he destroys the football rules.

America’s disrespect for rules is like a cancer. No area can be immune. pic.twitter.com/5FdWgsL3P0

— Li Zexin 李泽欣 (@XH_Lee23) July 6, 2026

Despite those explanations, criticism has continued, as reflected in the UEFA statement reproduced below:

“Yesterday’s decision to suspend for a probationary period of a year the implementation of the one-match automatic suspension following the red card issued to the player Folarin Balogun crossed a red line.

Football, like any other sports, relies on rules, which are the basis for fair, honest and transparent competition. Sometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case not. A minimum automatic suspension of one match following a red card is not a discretionary option and does not require the decision of a competent body to be enacted. It is a principle embedded in regulations, which cannot be made subject to exceptions, let alone in the middle of a tournament where several other players have been in the same situation and regularly served their suspension.

When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined. Equally, such decision creates a precedent in the ongoing tournament, where similar situations will now require an equal treatment, to the detriment of the competition.

Football is the most loved sport in the world because it is a beautiful game and is trusted because it is played everywhere with the same laws. A tournament is never a pure standalone and, if the tournament in question is the World Cup, it has the power to drive positive or negative consequences on the game as a whole. We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision.”

teleSUR/ JF

Sources: EFE – UEFA

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