Gianni Infantino urged to RESIGN as FIFA spirals into crisis over Balogan red card after Trump phone call

Gianni Infantino urged to resign as FIFA spirals into crisis over Balogan red card after Trump phone call “If Infantino had any sense of shame, he would resign,” lifelong England fan Ray Harada, 67, said. “If FIFA’s own rules can be bent after one phone call from Donald Trump, then what is the point of having rules at all?” FIFA was plunged into crisis as calls for boss Gianni Infantino to resign grew louder, with football united in fury over the decision to overturn a red card ban for a US striker. Folarin Balogun should have been automatically banned for the game against Belgium after being sent off in his previous game. However, after Donald Trump and Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House's World Cup task force, spoke to Infantino by phone, the automatic one-match suspension was postponed. The move led UEFA, Europe’s governing body for the sport, to accuse FIFA of undermining the integrity of the World Cup. Balogun was sent off during the US victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina and had been due to serve an automatic one-match ban for the last-16 tie against Belgium. But FIFA announced on Sunday that the punishment had been suspended, clearing the co-hosts’ leading goalscorer to play. Trump later celebrated the decision on Truth Social, writing: “Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right and reversing a great injustice.” World Cup bosses said Balogun’s punishment had been suspended under its disciplinary rules. “In line with article 27 of the FIFA disciplinary code, the implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year,” the governing body said in a statement. “If Folarin Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement,” the statement reads. The ruling handed the United States a major boost before the Belgium tie, with Balogun their top goalscorer. Of the 188 other red cards shown at World Cups, only one other player has escaped a suspension. That was Brazil’s Garrincha in 1962, before automatic bans were in place, in a case later shrouded in allegations of political interference. 'I did receive a call from President Donald Trump' FIFA President Gianni Infantino released a statement, claiming he will always "respect those decisions and the autonomy of the bodies that make them". But, he also revealed he took a phone call from Trump about the red card. He said: "I regularly discuss matters related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States, and on this matter, I did receive a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football stakeholders and business executives from around the world on many different issues. During our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA's independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies. "That is how FIFA's system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold. Whether we personally like a decision or not is irrelevant. Respect for independent institutions and the rule of law is what protects the integrity of our competitions and the credibility of FIFA at all times." FIFA's Appeal Committee has deemed a request submitted by the Belgian Football Association as "inadmissible". "The chairperson of the FIFA Appeal Committee, Neil Eggleston (from the United States), was not involved in the decision," it said in a statement. "The request was rendered inadmissible on the grounds that the RBFA (Royal Belgian Football Association) is not a party to the proceedings and, as such, has no standing to appeal the decision." The Belgian FA issued a statement earlier this afternoon condemning FIFA's handling of the controversy. It said it was "astonished" Balogun had not been banned. Belgium’s foreign minister Maxime Prevot also condemned the situation, saying: "If a phone call is really the reason for this incomprehensible decision, it would be a blatant violation of the most basic rules of football and sport.” 'I asked for a review by FIFA' Meanwhile, speaking from the White House today, Trump admitted he did call Infantino to discuss Balogun's red card. He said: "It's one thing to penalise somebody for the game, but how do you penalise them for a game that hasn't been played yet? It's very unfair, you can't do that. "Yes, I asked for a review by FIFA. I spoke to a man who is highly respected, whose level of respect has gone up tenfold, and he was good before this started, but he really pushed it in this country. I'm the one who got them to do it [bring the World Cup to America]. "All I did was I asked for a review because I didn't think it was a foul. Again, I'm good at this stuff. I didn't think it was a foul. I thought it was two great athletes who crashed into each other and got entangled. That was not a guy punching somebody in the face or anything that would be different. "If they wouldn't allow a top player, maybe among the best players on the team, to play, I think it would have had a big stain, and I related just that feeling. I didn't tell them what to do. I can't tell them what to do. I don't believe he [Infantino] made the decision, I think it was a committee that made the decision, and they made the right decision because number one it wasn't a foul, and you want to see a game with your best players. "How would you feel if you took [Lionel] Messi, or [Cristiano] Ronaldo or Harry Kane out? You can't do that. We gotta have our best players and Belgium's got a great team by the way. We gotta have our best, and they gotta have their best. And if we win or we lose, it's fair." A red line UEFA said FIFA had crossed a “red line” by failing to uphold what it called a core rule of the competition. It said an automatic one-match suspension "is not a discretionary option" and is "a principle embedded in regulations". "When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake, and the credibility of a competition is undermined," UEFA said in a statement. "Equally, such a decision creates a precedent in the ongoing tournament, where similar situations will now require an equal treatment, to the detriment of the competition. We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision." Thomas Tuchel, the England manager, was confused by the unprecedented reprieve after Jarell Quansah’s red card against Mexico, complaining: “Where does it end now?” Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who was replaced by Infantino in 2016 after a corruption scandal, wrote on X: “Red cards are not overturned by political phone calls. They are overturned by rules, evidence and independent bodies. If a US president intervenes with the FIFA president - and a player is suddenly cleared before a World Cup knockout match - the question is unavoidable: Quo vadis [where are you going], FIFA?” Glenn Micallef, the European Union's commissioner for sport, said decisions on sport "belong to sporting bodies, not politicians". "Influencing sporting decisions would undermine the autonomy of sport," he posted on X. "Our focus should instead be on the real governance challenges facing sport, including the weaponisation of sport for political purposes." Former Sky Sports presenter Jeff Stelling demanded FIFA President Gianni Infantino resigns immediately, after Folarin Balogun's red card punishment was suspended. He told talkSPORT: "It's an absolute disgrace. People are missing the point when they say ‘it may not have been a red card’. That's irrelevant. It's how the authorities have gone about this. Gianni Infantino needs to resign. He needs to resign today." Stelling also claimed that Infantino's relationship with US President Donald Trump meant his position at the head of football's premium governing body was untenable. He added: "He's the man who came up with the great idea of the FIFA Peace Prize and gave it to his mate, Donald Trump. And of course his mate is the one who then tries to influence this decision and have this suspension overturned." Former England and manchester-united-fc>Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney called the decision an "absolute disgrace." "Infantino should be ashamed of this because I think the sportsmanship of the game is in question here," Rooney told the BBC on Sunday. Gary Neville also attacked the ruling, saying the decision "absolutely stinks." "There should be a review process in place," he told ITV Sports. "Are we surprised? No, not with this lot," Neville added. But fans went much further. 'He should walk away before doing more damage' “If Infantino had any sense of shame, he would resign,” lifelong England fan Ray Harada, 67, said. “If FIFA’s own rules can be bent after one phone call from Donald Trump, then what is the point of having rules at all?” “This stinks from top to bottom. Football fans deserve a World Cup, not a private favour bank for presidents and their mates.” US-based England fan Patrick Finn, 50, added: “Infantino has embarrassed the game. He should be nowhere near the running of world football after this. “Every fan now has the right to ask whether the tournament is being decided on the pitch or over the phone. FIFA looks weak, compromised and political. Infantino should do the decent thing and walk before he does any more damage.” Julie Morley, 35, from Cambridge, told the Mirror: “Supporters spend their lives believing in fair play. Then FIFA appears to rip up its own rulebook because Trump got involved. It is shameful. Infantino has behaved like Trump’s fan club president, not the guardian of world football. He has to go.” The row has intensified scrutiny of Infantino’s close relationship with Trump. Last year, FIFA created and awarded Trump the first-ever FIFA Peace Prize during the president’s public but unsuccessful campaign to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Weeks later, he began bombing Iran. Infantino has been repeatedly accused of fawning over Trump and has visited the White House several times, during which he has been accused by fans of sycophancy toward the US president. FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment by the Mirror. The White House referred questions to Trump’s post on Truth Social. The Balogun decision is the latest flashpoint between UEFA and FIFA during a tournament already hit by rows over governance and political influence. After Somali referee Omar Artan was denied entry to the United States to officiate at the World Cup, UEFA invited him to referee the Super Cup between Paris St-Germain and Aston Villa on August 12. FIFA has also faced questions over other disciplinary rulings at this tournament, including Cristiano Ronaldo being cleared to play at the start of the World Cup despite normally being due to miss the opening two matches because of a red card issued before the tournament began.