The European Parliament has become the latest institution to challenge FIFA over its controversial decision to overturn American striker Folarin Balogun’s red card suspension, with a cross party group of MEPs calling for an official investigation into whether pressure from the Trump administration played a role.
The move comes after the United States suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat to Belgium in the World Cup round of 16, a match Balogun was able to play after FIFA unexpectedly lifted the automatic one match suspension that normally follows a red card.
According to a letter seen by Euronews, MEPs are urging all 27 football associations across the European Union to formally ask FIFA to investigate how the decision was made and whether political pressure influenced the outcome.
The letter argues that European football associations, as FIFA members, should intervene and demand transparency over the process that led to Balogun being cleared to play.
Irish MEP Barry Andrews, one of the lawmakers behind the initiative, accused FIFA President Gianni Infantino of giving in to pressure from the White House.
“We’ve once again seen Infantino and FIFA surrender to the demands of the Trump administration,” Andrews told Euronews, describing the decision as “a disgrace and a perversion of justice”.
Balogun was sent off during the United States’ group stage match against Bosnia and Herzegovina last week. Under FIFA rules, a straight red card carries an automatic one match suspension, meaning he should have missed the knockout clash against Belgium.
President Donald Trump later revealed that he had personally spoken to Infantino about the dismissal, describing the red card as unfair. Trump insisted he did not ask FIFA to overturn the punishment, but shortly afterwards the governing body suspended the ban by relying on a legal mechanism that has never previously been used at a World Cup since red cards were introduced.
Following the decision, Trump publicly thanked Infantino for what he called the reversal of “a great injustice”. Infantino has maintained that FIFA’s disciplinary panel operates independently and told the US president that political influence had no role in its decision making.
The controversy has triggered a strong backlash across European football.
UEFA described the move as “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable”, while the Belgian Football Federation has launched a formal challenge questioning Balogun’s eligibility to play in the match.
European Commissioner for Sport Glenn Micallef also criticised FIFA’s decision, calling it the wrong outcome.
Former UEFA communications director William Gaillard went even further, saying the reversal was “completely against the rules and the status of FIFA” and described the affair as “quite a scandal”.
The letter has been backed by MEPs Barry Andrews from Renew Europe alongside Lara Wolters and Niels Fuglsang from the Socialists and Democrats group. It is currently being circulated among lawmakers in an effort to gather signatures before Wednesday evening’s deadline.
Those backing the initiative are calling on Europe’s football associations to ensure that senior FIFA officials are held accountable if evidence emerges that they breached the organisation’s rules on political neutrality.
The latest intervention follows another recent letter signed by 50 MEPs, which called on FIFA to investigate its decision to award President Trump the FIFA Peace Prize.
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