Norway's football association (NFF) is considering filing an ethics complaint with FIFA over the decision to suspend a ban imposed on U.S. forward Folarin Balogun during the World Cup, following an intervention by U.S. President Donald Trump. A spokesperson for the NFF confirmed the potential complaint to Reuters.
Balogun had received a one-match ban after being shown a red card in a match that ruled him out of the team's next game against Belgium. President Trump reportedly contacted FIFA President Gianni Infantino, urging a review of the punishment. Subsequently, FIFA's disciplinary committee suspended the ban for one year.
This intervention and the decision to put the ban on hold have drawn criticism. The NFF intends to ask Infantino and FIFA to acknowledge that reversing the decision was a mistake. The spokesperson stated that the NFF's board will decide on August 6 whether to combine this case with a previous complaint filed by the human rights organization FairSquare concerning the awarding of a Peace Prize to Trump, which FairSquare argues breaches FIFA's political neutrality rules, or to pursue them as separate matters.
FIFA has not yet responded to a request for comment. The relationship between Infantino and Trump had already faced scrutiny during the tournament, with calls for the FIFA president to prioritize football over politics. Javier Tebas, president of Spain's LaLiga, also criticized the decision regarding Balogun's ban, suggesting that Infantino should step down. Tebas commented that the suspension of the ban was an extremely serious matter and that a different outcome might have led to Infantino's removal from his post.