Disgraced former FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Monday questioned the football governing body’s decision to suspend the red card ban on US striker Folarin Balogun.
Sources said AFP US President Donald Trump had called current FIFA chief Gianni Infantino and asked the body to review Balogun’s automatic one-match ban.
The 25-year-old is now free to play against Belgium in the last 16 of the World Cup later on Monday, with his ban suspended for a year without FIFA providing an explanation for the move.
“Red cards are not undone by political calls,” scandal-hit Blatter said on X.
“They are being overthrown by rules, evidence and independent bodies.
READ ALSO | FIFA ‘crossed a red line’ with decision to suspend Folarin Balogun’s ban, UEFA says
“When an American president intervenes with the FIFA president – and a player is suddenly cleared for a World Cup knockout match – the question is inevitable: Quo vadis (Where are you going), FIFA?
“Football should never become a playground for political power,” the 90-year-old added.
Blatter has often criticized Infantino, telling the German newspaper Image by February, FIFA had become a “dictatorship”.
Blatter resigned as head of FIFA in 2015 after a corruption crisis and was banned from football by the ethics committee.
European football governing body UEFA, Belgian coach Rudi Garcia and ex-Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp have all criticized FIFA’s decision on Balogun’s red card.
Published on July 6, 2026
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