Lineker blasts FIFA's five-match ban for Madibo as 'nonsense' after Kone's broken leg

Gary Lineker has condemned FIFA’s decision to hand Qatar midfielder Assim Madibo a five-match ban, calling it ‘a complete nonsense’ after a tackle that left Canada’s Ismael Kone with a broken tibia and fibula during the 2026 World Cup group stage. Canada won the match 6-0.

Madibo caught Kone from behind in a clumsy challenge that caused the Sassuolo midfielder to suffer a gruesome double fracture in his left leg. Kone was taken off and underwent surgery immediately after the game, with both his club and the Canadian Soccer Team confirming the operation was a success and that he is expected to make a full recovery.

FIFA initially issued a red card to Madibo several minutes after the tackle, then extended his suspension to five matches in the days that followed, citing a breach of Article 14.1.e of the FIFA Disciplinary Code for serious foul play. It is among the most severe retrospective punishments the governing body has issued for an on-field incident.

Lineker, posting on Instagram, was unsparing in his assessment. ‘This is a complete nonsense,’ he wrote. ‘It was clearly an accidental challenge which should not have even been a red card. He was also heartbroken by the injury to his opponent. Absurd decision.’

The ban draws comparisons to the nine-match suspension and four-month ban from all football-related activity handed to Luis Suarez after he bit Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup — though that punishment was widely viewed as proportionate to a deliberate act.

Kone received an emotional reception when he was wheeled out in front of Canadian supporters in Vancouver ahead of his country’s final Group B match against Switzerland. He will miss Canada’s last-16 fixture against South Africa — the nation’s first-ever World Cup knockout-stage appearance — as he begins his rehabilitation.