Almost a week after the United States became the final co-host to exit World Cup 2026, the fallout from the suspension of striker Folarin Balogun's red card ban continues.
Organizers FIFAtook the near-unprecedented decision to suspend the forward's ban after an intervention from US President Donald Trump and despite FIFA having statutes forbidding political interference.
"FIFA's judicial bodies are independent," said FIFA President Gianni Infantino when defending the process.
"They operate autonomously … Their independence is essential to the credibility and integrity of football, and this must always be respected."
This particular decision was taken by FIFA's 18-strong disciplinary committee, or at least this was the impression given by FIFA's communications. But a report from UK newspaper The Times stated on Monday that the committee's chairman, Mohammad al-Kamali, made the call unilaterally.FIFA under fire for World Cup red card retraction To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
