With Fifa’s credibility and the World Cup under attack from European soccer leaders, Fifa President Gianni Infantino admitted to receiving a phone call from US President Donald Trump before USA’s Folarin Balogun was allowed to play against Belgium later on Monday.
Balogun was sent off in the USA’s match against Bosnia-Herzegovina last week, prompting a suspension from the Belgium tournament. Trump called Infantino after the match with Bosnia to plead his case to overturn the call and Fifa lifted the punishment on Sunday.
The Belgian football federation protested Fifa’s decision not to enforce Balogun’s ban. European football’s governing body Uefa described the decision as an “inexplicable” violation of football law. Trump admitted calling Infantino and congratulated himself for getting Fifa to review the red card.
In a chaotic and unprecedented day in modern World Cup history, a Fifa appeals judge threw out Belgium’s challenge, less than eight hours before kick-off in Seattle and a place in the quarter-finals is at stake.
The Belgian football federation “is not a party to the case and, therefore, has no standing to appeal against the decision”, Fifa said in a statement.
It was unclear whether Belgium could proceed with an appeal to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport, which is waiting to rule on emergency World Cup cases.
