FairSquare Complains to IOC Over Balogun Ban Reprieve, Citing Trump’s 1-Match Intervention
Updated
Updated · ESPN · Jul 14
FairSquare Complains to IOC Over Balogun Ban Reprieve, Citing Trump’s 1-Match Intervention
3 articles · Updated · ESPN · Jul 14
Summary
Tuesday’s complaint asks the IOC to examine whether FIFA president Gianni Infantino breached political-neutrality rules in the handling of Folarin Balogun’s suspended one-match ban.
FIFA’s disciplinary committee let the U.S. striker play against Belgium after shelving his red-card suspension for a year, and Trump later said he had personally intervened on behalf of Balogun and the U.S. co-hosts.
Balogun said he expected the reprieve to trigger controversy and sensed teammates’ nerves before the round-of-16 loss, even though they reassured him.
FairSquare said FIFA still has not explained why the ban was suspended, framing the episode as the latest in a pattern of conduct by Infantino that it says violates IOC ethics rules.