FIFA Council to Consider Rule After Balogun Ban

FIFA’s Council was expected to consider a proposal on Thursday, October 15, to prohibit suspending automatic one-match bans for red cards, following the suspension of United States forward Folarin Balogun’s ban at the World Cup. The proposal has been reported as an agenda item, but the available information does not establish that the Council adopted a rule change. The disciplinary committee suspended Balogun’s automatic ban after he was sent off during the United States’ July 1 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The decision made him eligible to play against Belgium on July 6, when Belgium won 4-1. The committee’s action drew scrutiny because President Donald Trump said he had asked FIFA President Gianni Infantino to review the red card. Infantino has said FIFA’s judicial bodies act independently and that he told Trump the ongoing case would be decided by those bodies. He said he respects their decisions. The reporting does not independently establish whether Infantino influenced the committee’s decision. Four unnamed FIFA insiders, according to an account of their allegations, said Infantino told Trump he would take care of the ban.