A human rights campaign group has urged an investigation into whether U.S. President Donald Trump improperly intervened in the handling of Folarin Balogun\u2019s red-card ban, arguing the move could breach FIFA rules on political neutrality and potentially signal the start of the end of Gianni Infantino\u2019s time as president.<\/p>\n
Trump confirmed on Monday that he had contacted Infantino regarding the sending-off. The red card had meant Balogun would miss the United States\u2019 World Cup last-16 meeting with Belgium, until FIFA\u2019s disciplinary committee suspended the punishment on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Infantino, who has led football\u2019s world governing body since 2016, responded in a statement that the disciplinary chamber operates independently. He added that he was not involved in the decision that allowed Balogun to return for Monday\u2019s clash.<\/p>\n
FairSquare, a nonprofit focused on sport and human rights, believes FIFA\u2019s increasing drift toward political interests has been a concern for years, pointing to the 2018 World Cup in Russia as an earlier example.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s any question they\u2019ve become far too politically aligned,\u201d said Nicholas McGeehan, director and co-founder of FairSquare.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the politicisation, probably because of how Trump carries on, has become most obviously and blatantly problematic (in the U.S.). But I think this is a trend that has come into force \u2026 since Infantino came to power, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
This month, 50 members of the European Parliament wrote to FIFA\u2019s ethics committee supporting FairSquare\u2019s complaint against Infantino. The lawmakers cited his backing of Trump\u2019s political agenda, including the decision to award the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to the American president.<\/p>\n
McGeehan said the prospect of further political involvement could add mounting pressure on Infantino. \u201cI think if we continue to see those types of political interventions, that\u2019s going to put real pressure on Infantino,\u201d he said. \u201cI think Infantino is a symptom of the problem. He\u2019s a symptom of an organisation that has a rotten governance structure.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that there is a view within some circles that FIFA\u2019s governance is so broken it cannot be corrected. \u201c(There\u2019s a general understanding that) it\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
McGeehan also suggested the Balogun red-card episode could become a \u201cfatal misstep\u201d for Infantino. The FIFA president has already announced that he plans to seek another four-year term, with elections scheduled for next March.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are outraged when the reputation of FIFA is smeared,\u201d McGeehan said. \u201cWhat I think you\u2019ll find is that football administrators get seriously exercised when you start to jeopardise the integrity of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
He continued: \u201cWe 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\u2019s) code of ethics.\u201d<\/p>\n
FairSquare previously called for Infantino\u2019s predecessor, Sepp Blatter, to step down in 2015. Blatter had resigned after a major FIFA corruption scandal.<\/p>\n
McGeehan said he believed sentiment within football could be shifting against Infantino in a similar way. \u201cI think the sharks are probably circling,\u201d he said. \u201cHe\u2019s made far too many very serious missteps. And when you have a situation when you\u2019ve got European lawmakers wading into debate about presidential misconduct, you have a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A human rights campaign group has urged an investigation into whether U.S. President Donald Trump improperly intervened in the handling of Folarin Balogun\u2019s red-card ban, arguing the move could breach FIFA rules on political neutrality and potentially signal the start of the end of Gianni Infantino\u2019s time as president. Trump confirmed on Monday that he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2814,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Probe Demanded After Trump Contacts Infantino on Balogun Ban","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Rights group urges FIFA probe after Donald Trump contacts Gianni Infantino over Folarin Balogun\u2019s red-card ban, raising neutrality","mma_seo_breadcrumb_text":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_url":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_hide_ui":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_labels":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n