UEFA sharply criticizes FIFA for allowing US forward to play in World Cup after red card
"An inexplicable and unforgivable decision."
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has issued sharp criticism of FIFA after the US national team's top striker, Folarin Balogun, who received a red card, was allowed to play in the World Cup quarter-final against Belgium.
According to current FIFA rules, the player should have missed this match, but the international federation replaced his disqualification with a suspended sentence with a one-year probationary period.
Many media outlets link this unprecedented decision to a personal call from Donald Trump to FIFA President and his long-time friend Gianni Infantino, however, the organization itself refused to comment on these rumors.
In an official statement on its website, UEFA noted that the decision to suspend Balogun's automatic disqualification was "crossing a red line."
"Football, like any other sport, is based on rules that are the foundation of fair, just, and transparent competition. Sometimes rules allow for different interpretations. In this case, no. The minimum automatic one-match disqualification after an expulsion is not subject to discussion and does not require a decision from any competent body to come into force. This is a principle enshrined in the regulations, which cannot be subject to exceptions, especially during a tournament when several other footballers have already found themselves in a similar situation and served their disqualification in the prescribed manner," UEFA's statement reads.
Additionally, European football officials emphasized that such a step completely destroys trust in governing bodies and sporting principles.
"When the guarantors of the rules cease to ensure their inviolability, the integrity of the game is threatened, and the authority of the competition is undermined. Such a decision creates a precedent for the current tournament, where similar situations now require an equal approach — to the detriment of the competition itself. We express extreme surprise regarding such an unprecedented, inexplicable, and unfounded decision."
UEFA also recalled the global responsibility of the World Cup organizers to the entire sporting community:
"If the enforcement of the rules is no longer guaranteed by those obliged to protect them, the integrity of the game and trust in the competition are threatened."
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