FIFA chairman lifted Folarin Balogun red card ban without committee
FIFA has faced severe backlash after it emerged that disciplinary chairman Mohammad al-Kamali acted alone to suspend a red-card ban for United States striker Folarin Balogun during the World Cup.
The prolific forward was shown a straight red card during his country’s round-of-16 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina.
He was automatically expected to serve a one-match suspension for the highly anticipated quarter-final clash against Belgium in Seattle.
However, the global governing body made an unprecedented decision to defer the punishment with less than 48 hours until kick-off.
Unprecedented disciplinary call
The Times reports that the lifting of the suspension was authorised solely by the United Arab Emirates official.
The remaining 17 members of the disciplinary committee were reportedly not consulted on the landmark ruling.
Published findings from over 100 previous cases indicate that the chairman has never previously acted as the sole arbiter.
Historically, significant disciplinary verdicts require a joint decision from at least three committee members.
UEFA and political fallout
European football’s governing body, UEFA, strongly condemned the ruling by accusing their global counterparts of crossing a red line.
The controversy was further amplified when United States President Donald Trump revealed he had discussed the sending-off with Gianni Infantino.
The FIFA president swiftly released a statement to deny any political interference in the process.
“I have seen the public comments regarding the decision of the independent FIFA Disciplinary Committee related to the suspension of Folarin Balogun, and I would like to reiterate a fundamental principle of FIFA’s governance.”
“FIFA’s judicial bodies are independent. They operate autonomously, apply the FIFA Disciplinary Code, and decide cases based on the applicable regulations.”
Quarter-final exit
Despite the controversial reprieve, the American top scorer could not prevent his side from suffering a comprehensive 4-1 defeat to the Belgians.
The fixture marked the first time in the history of the tournament that a player avoided an immediate suspension following a dismissal.
The disciplinary chairman declined to comment on the situation when approached by the BBC.