Members of the European Parliament are calling for an investigation into FIFA President Gianni Infantino after the governing body’s controversial decision to suspend US star Folarin Balogun’s World Cup suspension following pressure from the Trump administration.The initiative, launched Tuesday by a group of Members of the European Parliament, urges all football associations within the Union to formally request that FIFA investigate how the decision was made.“We feel that it is time for European Football Associations, all of whom are member associations of FIFA, to intervene and ask that FIFA investigate the decision-making processes,” the draft letter states, according to Euronews.Balogun received a straight red card during the United States’ group-stage match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, an offence that ordinarily carries an automatic one-match suspension.After U.S. President Donald Trump publicly criticized the decision and acknowledged speaking with Infantino, FIFA’s disciplinary committee suspended the implementation of Balogun’s ban, allowing the striker to play against Belgium in the Round of 16.Belgium defeated the United States 4-1..Trump later thanked Infantino for “reversing a great injustice,” while FIFA maintained the decision was made independently by its disciplinary committee.The ruling drew swift condemnation across Europe.UEFA described the decision as “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable,” while the Belgian Football Federation launched a formal challenge to Balogun’s eligibility.European Commissioner for Sport Glenn Micallef also criticized the reversal, calling it “the wrong decision.”MEP Barry Andrews, one of the organizers behind the parliamentary letter, accused FIFA of yielding to political pressure.“Once again, we’ve seen Infantino and FIFA surrender to the demands of the Trump administration,” Andrews calling the decision “a disgrace and a perversion of justice.”The letter is being circulated among lawmakers for signatures before being sent to the European football associations. It asks the associations to press FIFA to determine whether “senior FIFA officials be held accountable if evidence exists to suggest they are breaching rules on political neutrality.”The initiative follows an earlier letter signed by 50 MEPs calling on FIFA to investigate its decision to award Trump the FIFA Peace Prize.The controversy also spilled into this week’s NATO summit in Ankara, where The Guardian reported allied leaders had informally agreed to avoid discussing the World Cup with Trump during official meetings in an effort to avoid further inflaming the dispute surrounding FIFA and the tournament. The report said leaders were concerned the issue could become an unnecessary distraction from the alliance’s security agenda.The scrutiny comes as FIFA is also considering whether to lift its ban on Russian national teams after the International Olympic Committee withdrew its recommendation that international federations exclude Russian teams because of the war in Ukraine. That prospect has drawn opposition from several European football federations, adding to growing concerns across Europe over FIFA’s recent decision-making during the World Cup.
