GENEVA (AP) 鈥� U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 role in from a mandatory one-game ban at the World Cup is set to provoke a formal complaint to FIFA ethics investigators.
The Norway soccer federation said Thursday its board of directors will consider filing the complaint at its next meeting, likely on Aug. 6.
鈥淲e need our leader in FIFA to say that this was an error,鈥� Norwegian federation president Lise Klaveness told London daily The Times in an interview published Thursday.
After Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino, a one-game ban for Balogun鈥檚 was deferred so he could play against Belgium with a quarterfinals place at stake.
after a chaotic 36 hours at the World Cup. The Belgium players were seemingly fired up by one of the all-time controversies in tournament history.
Trump called the referee鈥檚 red card for Balogun after video review a 鈥渉orrible鈥� call and took credit for getting FIFA to review what should routinely have been a one-game ban.
鈥淲e all know that this verdict was influenced from external forces and did not have the proper process,鈥� Klaveness told The Times of the FIFA ruling that was unprecedented in the past 60 years at World Cups.
鈥淲hen you bend a rule like this, you鈥檙e on a slippery slope that will put the whole game at risk,鈥� said the former Women鈥檚 World Cup player for Norway, who is an elected member of European soccer body .
Soccer’s conscience
Klaveness is a lawyer and judge who has as a since her election in 2022.
鈥淚t is a worry for the game when you compromise fundamental rules of the game,鈥� she said Thursday about not enforcing Balogun’s ban.
Norway previously joined a London-based NGO鈥檚 alleging Infantino breached a statutory duty of political neutrality, including by creating a at the World Cup draw in December.
The close personal and political include the U.S. president believing the soccer official could be a good pick as next secretary general of the United Nations, the this week.
Olympics complaint
The human rights NGO, FairSquare, also has about the Balogun incident to the International Olympic Committee, where Infantino is an elected member, about breaching its rules on political neutrality.
FIFA and the IOC rarely acknowledge or provide updates on potential cases before their ethics bodies.
The independence of FIFA鈥檚 process to handle complaints alleging unethical conduct since the lead investigator and judge , in the second year of Infantino鈥檚 presidency.
FIFA has yet to publish documents explaining how its disciplinary judges reached verdicts about Balogun or other World Cup players.
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