Rome, 6 July (LaPresse) – UEFA has taken a very firm stance following FIFA’s decision to lift the suspension imposed on US striker Folarin Balogun after he was shown a red card against Bosnia at the 2026 World Cup. “Yesterday’s decision to suspend the application of the automatic one-match ban following the red card shown to Folarin Balogun for a one-year probationary period has crossed an insurmountable line,” the statement reads. “Football, like any other sport, is based on rules, which form the foundation of fair, honest and transparent competition. Sometimes the rules are open to interpretation. Not in this case. A minimum automatic one-match suspension following a red card is not a matter of discretion and does not require a decision by a competent body to be imposed. It is a principle enshrined in the regulations, which cannot be subject to exceptions, let alone in the middle of a tournament in which several other players have found themselves in the same situation and have duly served their suspensions.” According to UEFA, “when the certainty of the rules is no longer guaranteed by those responsible for upholding them, the integrity of the game is at risk and the credibility of the competition is compromised. Similarly, such a decision sets a precedent in the current tournament, where similar situations will now require fair treatment, to the detriment of the competition itself. Football is the world’s most loved sport because it is a beautiful game and enjoys public trust because it is played everywhere under the same rules. A tournament is never an isolated event and, when it comes to the World Cup, it has the power to generate positive or negative consequences for the entire footballing landscape. We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision.”
2026 World Cup: UEFA takes on FIFA over the Balogun case: “This has gone too far”
Rome, 6 July (LaPresse) – UEFA has taken a very firm stance following FIFA’s decision to lift the suspension imposed on US striker Folarin Balogun after he was shown a red card against Bosnia at the 2026 World Cup. “Yesterday’s decision to suspend the application of the automatic one-match ban following the red card shown to Folarin Balogun for a one-year probationary period has crossed an insurmountable line,” the statement reads. “Football, like any other sport, is based on rules, which form the foundation of fair, honest and transparent competition. Sometimes the rules are open to interpretation. Not in this case. A minimum automatic one-match suspension following a red card is not a matter of discretion and does not require a decision by a competent body to be imposed. It is a principle enshrined in the regulations, which cannot be subject to exceptions, let alone in the middle of a tournament in which several other players have found themselves in the same situation and have duly served their suspensions.” According to UEFA, “when the certainty of the rules is no longer guaranteed by those responsible for upholding them, the integrity of the game is at risk and the credibility of the competition is compromised. Similarly, such a decision sets a precedent in the current tournament, where similar situations will now require fair treatment, to the detriment of the competition itself. Football is the world’s most loved sport because it is a beautiful game and enjoys public trust because it is played everywhere under the same rules. A tournament is never an isolated event and, when it comes to the World Cup, it has the power to generate positive or negative consequences for the entire footballing landscape. We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision.”
