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Dale Johnson<\/p>\n
Uefa has strongly criticised Fifa’s\u00a0<\/b>shock decision not to uphold Folarin Balogun’s automatic ban at this World Cup<\/b><\/a>, calling it “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable”.<\/b><\/p>\n United States striker Balogun, who was sent off against Bosnia-Herzegovina, should have served a suspension for the last-16 tie against Belgium (Tuesday 01:00 BST).<\/p>\n But World Cup organisers Fifa, the governing body of world football, opted not to enforce an immediate sanction on the 25-year-old, meaning the co-hosts’ leading goalscorer will be available to play.<\/p>\n Uefa, European football’s governing body, said that intervening to effectively cancel a suspension at a tournament “crossed a red line”.<\/p>\n Of the 188 other red cards at the World Cup, only one other player has escaped a suspension.<\/p>\n That was Brazil’s Garrincha in 1962, which was before automatic bans were in place and it was\u00a0shrouded in allegations of political interference.,\u00a0external<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n The BBC’s US media partner CBS News has confirmed that Balogun’s reinstatement came after US president Donald Trump called Fifa president Gianni Infantino on Thursday and spoke about the suspension.<\/p>\n On Sunday, President Trump thanked Fifa for “reversing a great injustice”.<\/p>\n The Belgian Football Association (RBFA) said in a statement that it is “astonished” Balogun will not be banned.<\/p>\n On Monday, Belgium’s foreign minister Maxime Prevot said: “If a phone call is really the reason for this incomprehensible decision, it would be a blatant violation of the most basic rules of football and sport.”<\/p>\n Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter, who was replaced by Infantino in 2016\u00a0after a corruption scandal<\/a>, wrote on X that “football must never become a playground for political power”.<\/p>\n Uefa said that an automatic suspension of one match “is not a discretionary option” and it is “a principle embedded in regulations”.<\/p>\n “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,” Uefa said in a statement.<\/p>\n “Equally, such a decision creates a precedent in the ongoing tournament, where similar situations will now require an equal treatment, to the detriment of the competition.<\/p>\n “We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision.”<\/p>\n Glenn Micallef, the European Union’s commissioner for sport, said that decisions on sport “belong to sporting bodies, not politicians”.<\/p>\n “Influencing sporting decisions would undermine the autonomy of sport,”\u00a0he posted on X.,\u00a0external<\/span><\/a>\u00a0“Our focus should instead be on the real governance challenges facing sport, including the weaponisation of sport for political purposes.”<\/p>\n Uefa and Fifa have been at loggerheads over a number of decisions in recent months.<\/p>\n After Omar Artan\u00a0was denied entry to the United States<\/a>\u00a0to officiate at the World Cup, Uefa invited the Somali\u00a0to referee the Super Cup<\/a>\u00a0between Paris St-Germain and Aston Villa on 12 August.<\/p>\n England coach Thomas Tuchel says there is total confusion over the disciplinary process at the World Cup after the Balogun decision.<\/p>\n With Jarell Quansah sent off in England’s\u00a03-2 win over Mexico<\/a>, Tuchel was asked if he would be petitioning Fifa to get the defender’s ban cancelled before Saturday’s quarter-final against Norway (22:00 BST).<\/p>\n “Where does this start and where does this end now?” Tuchel said. “Can we overturn it or not overturn it? What’s going on?<\/p>\n “Where to draw the line is the question that I ask. I have no answer to that.<\/p>\n “Do we appeal if a yellow card is not a yellow card? Do we think it is not a red card or who thinks it? Where does this start and where does this end? It’s my question. I don’t have an answer.”<\/p>\n Both Balogun and Quansah were sent off following a video assistant referee (VAR) review.<\/p>\n Tuchel believes that the intervention has created uncertainty over the rules.<\/p>\n “I think first of all, to be very clear, that it [Balogun] was not a red card,” Tuchel said.<\/p>\n “But VAR got involved and obviously three people from VAR and the referee checked it were then of the opinion that it was a red card, so the decision is made.<\/p>\n “Who overturns this decision and when and on what grounds? And how far does this go now? It’s just strange for me. We just want to have consistency in the decisions.<\/p>\n “So, is our yellow card after the first minute against Declan Rice\u2026 we can now debate endlessly. I think it is not a yellow card. Do we get this back?<\/p>\n “Does France get the yellow card back for [Michael] Olise which was not a yellow card? Where does this end? Where does it stop?<\/p>\n “I don’t know the rules. I am the wrong person to ask. I will wait and see what’s coming.”<\/p>\n Speaking at a news conference on Sunday, Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia, said: “I didn’t know that [at] the Fifa World Cup 5 July is now 1 April, and that is April Fool’s.<\/p>\n “We are not defending the national team or the federation, we’re defending football.”<\/p>\n The red card row is now a legal issue, not a sporting one, Belgium’s football governing body has told the BBC.<\/p>\n The Royal Belgian FA (RBFA) is expected to release a further statement in the coming hours.<\/p>\n The Athletic has reported,\u00a0external<\/span><\/a>\u00a0that Belgium have been granted the right to appeal, another unprecedented step whereby a future opponent has been allowed to be involved in a disciplinary case.<\/p>\n It added that the Belgian FA has until 13:00 BST to make its case but there is no timeline for a decision, the match kicking off 12 hours later.<\/p>\n If Fifa stands by its decision, the\u00a0Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has set up an ad hoc division,\u00a0external<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to hear swift and independent resolution of appeals against decisions at the tournament.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Gianni Infantino has been Fifa president since 2016<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Blatter, along with former Uefa president Michel Platini, was last year\u00a0cleared of corruption charges<\/a>\u00a0relating to allegations of fraud at Fifa.<\/p>\n The Swiss has regularly criticised decisions taken during Infantino’s presidency.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTuchel – Where does this end?<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/picture><\/span>Image source,<\/span>Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n