Balogun Affair: UEFA Quietly Prepares Rival Candidate to Challenge Infantino in 2027

American striker Folarin Balogun’s requalification for the USA-Belgium round-of-16 match, despite receiving a red card, has triggered a governance crisis at FIFA. Donald Trump himself confirmed contacting Gianni Infantino about the decision, while FIFA maintains that its disciplinary bodies are independent — a position difficult to defend in the face of what appears to be direct government interference, prohibited by the organization’s statutes.

UEFA, which was quick to publicly denounce the situation, has escalated its opposition to FIFA’s president. According to journalist Romain Molina, the “simmering war” between the two institutions, previously confined to behind-the-scenes maneuvering, “is now public.” More significantly, the affair is serving as a catalyst for an electoral offensive: “Several important UEFA members are preparing a candidate behind the scenes for 2027, we’re testing the waters, because we want to put an opponent to Gianni Infantino,” Molina explains.

Infantino’s electoral base remains solid. By expanding the World Cup format to 48 teams, he has multiplied the beneficiary nations and therefore potential supporters within the FIFA Congress. But this foundation is not unanimous. “Gianni Infantino’s all-in on Trump could potentially be his downfall. There are people from CONCACAF who have had enough, in Africa too. There is a movement of revolt,” Molina believes.

The road to his removal remains fraught with obstacles. “The problem is that courage is not often part of the vocabulary of football leaders, who are often held back by various affairs,” the journalist notes. Infantino remains a formidable political operator, and no credible alternative candidate name has yet been publicly advanced. The 2027 election is shaping up as the first real test of resistance for a president whose authority has just been shaken on the world stage.