Decisions on sport “belong to sporting bodies, not politicians,” EU sports chief Glenn Micallef said on Monday after FIFA overturned US striker Folarin Balogun’s suspension following a reported intervention by President Donald Trump.
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“Influencing sporting decisions would undermine the autonomy of sport. Our focus should instead be on the real governance challenges facing sport, including the weaponization of sport for political purposes,” Micallef said.
Meanwhile, Germany sees “no place on the pitch” for politics, the junior minister for sport told AFP Monday.
“Refereeing decisions are a matter for sport. Politics has no place on the pitch,” State Minister for Sport Christiane Schenderlein told AFP in a statement. “The German government respects the autonomy of sport.”
