A human rights organization focused on sports is calling for a formal investigation into U.S. President Donald Trump’s involvement in reversing a red card suspension for American soccer player Folarin Balogun, warning it could spell the beginning of the end for FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
Trump confirmed this past Monday that he had personally reached out to Infantino regarding the red card ban, which had threatened to sideline Balogun from the U.S. team’s World Cup round-of-16 clash with Belgium. FIFA’s disciplinary committee suspended the punishment on Sunday, allowing Balogun to take the field in Monday’s match.
Infantino, who has led FIFA since 2016, released a statement insisting that the disciplinary committee operates independently and that he played no role in the decision to lift Balogun’s ban.
FairSquare, a nonprofit organization dedicated to sports and human rights issues, argues that FIFA’s growing entanglement with political figures has been a concern dating back to the 2018 World Cup held in Russia.
“I don’t think there’s any question they’ve become far too politically aligned,” said Nicholas McGeehan, director and co-founder of FairSquare, in comments to Reuters.
“I think that the politicisation, probably on account of how Trump carries on, has become most obviously blatantly problematic (in the U.S.). But I think this is a trend that that has come into force … since Infantino came to power, for sure,” McGeehan added.
Earlier this month, 50 members of the European Parliament sent a letter to FIFA’s ethics committee supporting FairSquare’s existing complaint against Infantino. That complaint centers on Infantino’s backing of Trump’s political positions, including the decision to award Trump the first-ever FIFA Peace Prize.
McGeehan warned that continued political interference would place enormous strain on Infantino’s leadership. “I think if we continue to see those types of political interventions, that’s going to put real pressure on Infantino,” he said.
He went on to describe Infantino as a symptom of deeper organizational problems. “I think Infantino is a symptom of the problem. He’s a symptom of an organisation that has a rotten governance structure. (There’s a general understanding that) it’s dysfunctional to the point where it can never be reformed. And I think the relationship with Trump is probably what sort of catalysed that understanding.”
McGeehan suggested the red card controversy may ultimately prove to be a turning point for Infantino, who has already announced plans to seek another four-year term as FIFA president in March. “People are outraged when the sort of the reputation of FIFA is smeared,” he said.
“What I think you’ll find is that football administrators get seriously exercised when you start to jeopardize the integrity of the game. We are definitely going to ask for an investigation into the circumstances of this. If there is a quid pro quo at work here, then that is a very clear violation of (FIFA’s) code of ethics,” McGeehan stated.
FairSquare previously called for the resignation of Infantino’s predecessor, Sepp Blatter, back in 2015 — before Blatter stepped down amid a sweeping FIFA corruption scandal. McGeehan suggested that sentiment within the sport may now be shifting in a similar direction against Infantino.
“I think the sharks are probably circling,” McGeehan said. “He’s made far too many very serious missteps. And when you have a situation when you’ve got European lawmakers wading into debate about presidential misconduct, you have a problem.”
