Blatter accuses FIFA of bowing to Trump after Balogun red card ban suspended

Sepp Blatter has publicly accused FIFA of political interference after the governing body suspended Folarin Balogun’s automatic one-game ban, with reports claiming US president Donald Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino before the decision was made.

Balogun had been facing a mandatory suspension after receiving a red card in the United States’ group-stage win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. The ban would have ruled him out of the round of 16 tie against Belgium, but FIFA moved to suspend the sanction, clearing the forward to play.

Blatter, who led FIFA from 1998 to 2015, took to X to challenge the legitimacy of the decision. “Red cards are not overturned by political phone calls,” he wrote. “They are overturned by rules, evidence and independent bodies.”

The 89-year-old went further, directly implicating both Trump and Infantino in what he described as an unacceptable blurring of political and sporting authority. “If a U.S. President intervenes with the FIFA President — and a player is suddenly cleared before a World Cup knockout match — the question is unavoidable: Quo vadis, FIFA? Football must never become a playground for political power.”

The intervention adds significant controversy to an already high-profile fixture, with the United States hosting the 2026 World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico. Infantino has maintained a close public relationship with Trump throughout the tournament’s build-up, and the timing of the ban’s suspension — days before a knockout match on home soil — has drawn immediate scrutiny.

FIFA has not publicly detailed the procedural grounds on which the ban was suspended. Blatter’s statement is among the most prominent criticisms yet of Infantino’s leadership from within the sport’s establishment.