FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Monday defended his organization’s decision to defer U.S. striker Folarin Balogun’s one-game suspension ahead of the Monday World Cup match between the U.S. and Belgium.
“FIFA’s judicial bodies are independent,” Infantino said in a statement posted on X. “I read the decisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee when they are issued. Sometimes I am surprised by them. Sometimes I agree with them, and sometimes I disagree. What I always do, however, is respect those decisions and the autonomy of the bodies that make them.”
On Sunday, FIFA announced that its disciplinary committee suspended the red card that Balogun received during the U.S. game against Bosnia and Herzegovina. U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that he had called Infantino to lobby for the suspension to be lifted, though the president insisted that “all I did was ask for a review,” and “I didn’t say that you have to do this.”
Infantino acknowledged discussing Balogun’s suspension with Trump but said he explained the “ongoing legal process involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies” to the U.S. president.
Infantino added that “respect for independent institutions and the rule of law is what protects the integrity of our competitions and the credibility of FIFA at all times.”
UEFA, European football’s governing body, said in a statement Monday that FIFA’s decision was “incomprehensible and unjustifiable.”