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| Folarin Balogun |
The Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) is set to file a formal ethics complaint with FIFA over the role of United States President Donald Trump in the decision to overturn Folarin Balogun’s suspension during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
NFF president Lise Klaveness said FIFA must acknowledge it made a grave error by reversing Balogun’s automatic one-match ban.
Balogun received a red card in the United States’ Round of 32 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina, a dismissal that should have sidelined him for the subsequent clash against Belgium.
However, FIFA suspended the ban for 12 months after Trump reportedly contacted FIFA president Gianni Infantino to request a review of the decision.
Klaveness argued that allowing political influence to shape disciplinary rulings undermines football’s integrity and sets a dangerous precedent.
“When you bend a rule like this, you’re on a slippery slope that will put the whole game at risk,” Klaveness told The Times. “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.
“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.
“To try to sweep this under the carpet now will not fly. Too many felt this… coaches, players, fans… that this was too close to the game.”
The Norwegian federation is expected to pursue the issue through FIFA’s ethics mechanisms, maintaining that external political interference has weakened confidence in football’s disciplinary system.
Meanwhile, human rights group FairSquare has also lodged complaints with the International Olympic Committee, alleging that Infantino violated political neutrality rules through his interactions with Trump.