On July 7th, in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match between the USA and Belgium, due to well-known reasons, US forward Balogun, who had been red-carded in the previous match, still played. Earlier, La Liga president Tebas published an article criticizing FIFA.
The pardon of US player Balogun's suspension is by no means an anecdote or an isolated error, but merely the tip of the iceberg of FIFA's long-standing accumulated problems in its governance model. This model is continuously damaging the credibility of FIFA and even the entire football world.
When rules can be interpreted or modified at will; when major decisions are made without real dialogue and consensus with national leagues that support professional football year-round (after all, most professional clubs and players do not participate in international competitions); when a predetermined agenda is unilaterally promoted, disregarding the voices of core football stakeholders, the problem is no longer a specific resolution, but the entire system itself.
The FIFA Congress is nothing more than a series of performances stacking "unanimous votes": there is no real debate here, and resolutions are settled before voting begins. They neither reach consensus with national leagues nor continuously introduce decisions that harm the interests of leagues.
The Balogun incident further confirms this external perception; it is just the tip of the iceberg. Furthermore, if rules are always applied arbitrarily, trust will be completely lost, and without trust, institutional credibility is out of the question.
The worst part is that most professionals in the football world are aware of this, but too many choose to go along with it and remain silent. Because compared to defending independence, transparency, and good governance, remaining silent is clearly much easier.
The football world should have responsible, rule-abiding, and transparent institutions, rather than acting through unilateral, arbitrary, and capricious decisions... It is these types of decisions that are constantly eroding the trust of fans, clubs, leagues, and players.
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