FIFA is being criticized over its decision to lift the red card suspension for lead U.S. Men’s National Team scorer Folarin Balogun, allowing him to play against Belgium on Monday.
Sources familiar with the matter told CBS News that Balogun’s reinstatement came after President Trump called FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Thursday and spoke about the suspension, which would have kept the 25-year-old striker from playing in the round of 16 World Cup match.
The Union of European Football Associations, Europe’s soccer governing body, said FIFA “crossed a red line,” and expressed its “disbelief” at a decision it called “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable.”
“When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined,” the governing body said in a statement. “[Soccer] is the most loved sport in the world because it is a beautiful game and is trusted because it is played everywhere with the same laws,” UEFA said.
Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House’s World Cup task force, also spoke to Infantino about the situation, and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick was in communication with FIFA.
Spokespeople for the White House, Lutnick and Giuliani did not immediately respond to CBS News’ request for comment.
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The Royal Belgian Football Association, whose national team will face the U.S. Monday, said it was “astonished” by the decision, and added it contradicts FIFA’s own rules.
“We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision,” the body said in a statement. “When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined.”
Prominent British commentators have expressed similar condemnation.
Wayne Rooney, a former player for Manchester United and England’s national team, called the decision an “absolute disgrace.”
“Infantino should be ashamed of this because I think the sportsmanship of the game is in question here,” Rooney told the BBC on Sunday.
Prominent commentator and former England player Gary Neville said Sunday the decision “absolutely stinks.”
“There should be a review process in place,” he told ITV Sports. “Are we surprised? No, not with this lot,” Neville added.
The European Union’s Commissioner for Sport said he also believed it was the “wrong decision.”
“Decisions on sporting rules and sporting matters belong to sporting bodies, not politicians. Influencing sporting decisions would undermine the autonomy of sport,” Glenn Micallef said in a social media post.