Uefa accuses Fifa of ‘crossing a red line’ over lifting of Folarin Balogun’s red card ban

Uefa has hit out at Fifa’s decision to lift USA striker Folarin Balogun’s suspension for Monday’s last-16 tie with Belgium, describing the move as “incomprehensible and unjustifiable” and accusing world football’s governing of crossing “a red line”.

Europe’s governing body made no bones over their opposition to the shock call, one Belgium have been granted an appeal against. There are no guarantees, however, over when that decision will be made or whether Fifa’s reasoning for lifting Balogun’s suspension will be made public.

Donald Trump repeatedly lobbied Fifa to lift Balogun’s suspension, with sources telling the Guardian the US president made three calls to Fifa, starting on Wednesday, after Balogun was sent off in the USA’s 2-0 last-16 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, to ensure the change was made.

“Yesterday’s decision to suspend for a probationary period of a year the implementation of the one-match automatic suspension following the red card issued to the player Folarin Balogun crossed a red line,” read Uefa’s statement. “Football, like any other sports, relies on rules, which are the basis for fair, honest and transparent competition. Sometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case not.

“A minimum automatic suspension of one match following a red card is not a discretionary option and does not require the decision of a competent body to be enacted. It is a principle embedded in regulations, which cannot be made subject to exceptions, let alone in the middle of a tournament where several other players have been in the same situation and regularly served their suspension.

“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. Equally, such decision creates a precedent in the ongoing tournament, where similar situations will now require an equal treatment, to the detriment of the competition. We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision.”

The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) expressed their own “astonishment” on Sunday at Fifa’s decision to rescind Balogun’s one-game ban, with their manager, Rudi Garcia, comparing it to an April Fools’ Day joke. To compound Belgium’s anger, it is understood that the RBFA has not received the reasons for Balogun’s ban being overturned, which has only been explained by a brief reference to Article 27 of Fifa’s disciplinary code, which gives its judicial committee the authority to “fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure”. As a result, the RBFA has essentially submitted their appeal blind, and has not received any information on timings.

As per Fifa regulations, the appeal will be heard by a member of Fifa’s appeals committee that does not represent Uefa or Concacaf, the federations that Belgium and USA are members of, to avoid a potential conflict of interest. Fifa’s disciplinary processes are now under huge scrutiny, however, due to the unprecedented nature of Balogun’s reprieve and the revelation that Trump was heavily involved in getting the 25-year-old’s red card rescinded. The RBFA’s appeal is unlikely to be the end of the matter, as they have made clear that they are exploring legal action against Fifa, whom they claim have broken their own statutes.

Belgium’s foreign minister, Maxime Prévot, a former referee, has hit out at Fifa’s intervention, saying: “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”. Glen Micallef, European commissioner for intergenerational fairness, youth, culture and sport, has also voiced his opposition. “Decisions ​on sporting rules ​and sporting matters belong to ​sporting ‌bodies, not ​politicians,” he said. “​Influencing sporting decisions would undermine the autonomy of sport.”

In London, Keir Starmer’s official spokesman, asked about the rescinding of the red card, said: “Those decisions are a matter for the football World Cup governing body and should stay that way, and we are clear in that position … the prime minister supports the integrity of competition in all sports.”

Asked about whether Fifa’s integrity was put into question by the Trump call, the spokesperson said: “That is a matter for Fifa to respond to.”

The USA manager, Mauricio Pochettino, praised Fifa’s move and reiterated his view that the decision by Brazilian referee, Raphael Claus, to show Balogun a red card for making contact with Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic was harsh.

“Everyone that really loves the sport and trusts ethics and integrity, I think we celebrate all that decision,” Pochettino said. “We were punished enough against Bosnia Herzegovina to play with 10 men for 30 minutes [because of] a decision that was completely unfair … 99.9% of people agree there was an unfair red card.”

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