The Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) plans to lodge a formal complaint with FIFA concerning Donald Trump’s role in overturning a red card issued to U.S. striker Folarin Balogun. Balogun was initially slated to miss a round-of-16 match against Belgium following a red card during a 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina. Reports confirmed that the U.S. President contacted FIFA leader Gianni Infantino to advocate for the suspension to be revoked.
FIFA ultimately cleared Balogun to play despite no official appeal being filed or any established precedent for such a reversal. The organization cited a regulation allowing the suspension of penalties but offered no further explanation. NFF president Lise Klaveness labeled the move a mistake and intends to raise the issue with FIFA’s ethics committee. She argued that bypassing standard procedures undermines the sport’s integrity and warns that such influence sets a dangerous precedent. Klaveness plans to address the incident at an upcoming board meeting, marking another instance of friction between the NFF and FIFA following the organization’s decision to grant Trump its inaugural Peace Prize.
