President Donald Trump's interference in FIFA to un-suspend red-carded American footballer Folarin Balogun has triggered a firestorm of outrage in the European Union.
Generally, a red card, issued for severe misconduct in play, triggers an automatic one-game suspension. However, Trump's behind-the-scenes call to FIFA President Gianni Infantino ensured Balogun was cleared to play for Team USA despite his behavior in the match with Bosnia.
"We respect the autonomy of sport, and we respect the right of sports federations to decide on the criteria under which participants compete,” said European Commission spokeswoman Eva Hrncirova, according to Politico. She continued that “any such decision should, obviously, be made on the basis of objective and transparent criteria,” and “the EU supports the principle of fair play and transparent competition.”
Hrncirova, however, had one of the gentler responses. The Union of European Football Associations put out a statement saying, "Yesterday’s decision to suspend for a probationary period of a year the implementation of the one-match automatic suspension following the red card issued to the player Folarin Balogun crossed a red line. Football, like any other sports, relies on rules, which are the basis for fair, honest and transparent competition. Sometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case not."
Meanwhile, Glenn Micallef, the European Commissioner for Sport, stated on X that while he personally disagreed with the suspension as a fan, "Decisions on sporting rules and sporting matters belong to sporting bodies, not politicians" and for politicians to put pressure on sporting bodies "would undermine the autonomy of sport."
All of this comes as Infantino's close relationship to Trump has come under heavy scrutiny and criticism, including his move to create a "FIFA Peace Prize" and award it to the U.S. president after he spent weeks complaining about not winning a Nobel.
