According to Cadena SER, FIFA will argue at this Thursday's Council meeting that the disciplinary rules were unclear at the time of the Balogun case. This comes after FIFA decided to suspend Balogun's red card received during the World Cup, a decision made after a call from then-US President Donald Trump.
FIFA will use this as justification for its handling of the situation. The decision to suspend Balogun's sanction, allowing him to play in the round of 16 against Belgium, sparked controversy, with Belgium, UEFA, and Members of the European Parliament all calling for an investigation. Sources close to the FIFA Council revealed that the organization is attempting to amend the wording of Article 27 of its disciplinary code to retroactively justify its handling of the case and Trump's political intervention, despite current regulations clearly stating that a red card automatically results in at least a one-match suspension.
Rules and circulars issued over the past 20 years have established the principle that a sanction can only be challenged if the identity of the sent-off player is confused, or if the sending-off was unjust due to a serious and obvious refereeing error. The Balogun incident was one of the major controversies of the USA, Mexico, and Canada World Cup, which Spain won in the final against Argentina. It was previously revealed that then-US President Donald Trump called FIFA President Gianni Infantino to ask him to review Balogun's sending-off against Bosnia, with Trump himself admitting he did not believe it was a foul.
In response, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee denied any interference in its decision-making and explained on July 6 that it had not rescinded Folarin Balogun's sending-off on July 1, but had suspended it and placed him on probation.
The disciplinary body fined the player $40,000 and imposed a one-match suspension, but suspended the ban with a one-year probation period, allowing him to play in the round of 16 match against Belgium, which Belgium won 4-1.
Days after the US team's elimination, striker Folarin Balogun admitted that when he was told FIFA had overturned his suspension so he could play against Belgium, he thought it was a "joke" and felt it was "unreal."
AF's PC site is now live! Browse full news, comments, match details and stats on your computer. Visit: www.allfootballapp.com