Lise Klaveness, president of the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF), has announced her intention to request her board to file a formal ethics complaint regarding the suspension of Folarin Balogun’s World Cup ban.
In an interview with The Times, she urged FIFA president Gianni Infantino to acknowledge that suspending the ban was an “error,” asserting that “we all know” the decision was swayed by external influences.
The U.S. striker received a red card in a match against Bosnia-Herzegovina but was allowed to participate in the World Cup round-of-16 victory over Belgium after FIFA’s disciplinary committee decided to suspend his automatic one-match ban.
Prior to the match against Belgium, U.S. President Donald Trump revealed that he had requested Infantino to reassess the decision regarding the red card.
This decision followed a phone call between Trump and Infantino, with Trump later declaring that FIFA had made a “great decision.” Infantino has consistently stated that FIFA’s judicial bodies function independently.
“When you bend a rule like this, you’re on a slippery slope that endangers the integrity of the game. It raises serious concerns when you compromise fundamental rules,” Klaveness remarked.
“This should never have happened. It’s crucial to communicate honestly about it now. We all know this ruling was influenced by external pressures and lacked a proper process.
“FIFA’s leadership needs to recognize this as an error.
“If you begin to adapt to the pressures from political leaders, you risk altering your own behavior and the organization’s stance, as well as the limits on how political leaders should interfere. That has already occurred.”
Klaveness also expressed concern over the fact that such a contentious issue was resolved by a single member of FIFA’s disciplinary committee.
According to sources, first reported by The Times, the chair of the FIFA disciplinary committee, Mohammad Al Kamali, made the unilateral decision to suspend Balogun’s ban.
“When there’s a strong external voice influencing your decisions, it’s critical to have multiple voices involved in the process,” she stated. “Failing to do so is a mistake.”
She emphasized that attempting to “ignore this issue” would be futile as “too many” within the football community are concerned about the matter.
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“This situation is so severe and concerning that I hope it encourages others to speak out about similar issues without fear,” she said. “I will bring this up at a board meeting for discussion, as I believe it deserves to be treated as an ethical complaint.”
As reported by The Times, Klaveness aims to integrate this case into the ongoing ethics complaint regarding the FIFA Peace Prize awarded to Trump.
Her remarks follow a complaint alleging that Infantino violated political neutrality rules in his interactions with Trump, which has been submitted to the International Olympic Committee.
The NFF reached out to FIFA’s ethics committee last month, asking them to consider FairSquare’s complaint.
ESPN has requested a response from FIFA regarding Klaveness’ comments.