The Norwegian Football Federation is considering whether to file a formal complaint to Fifa after Folarin Balogun’s automatic one-match ban was suspended for 12 months during the World Cup, in a case that has added another layer to the scrutiny around Fifa’s leadership.
Lise Klaveness, the NFF president, said the federation reacted with strong concern and would decide on a complaint at its next board meeting. The issue has now become part of a wider dispute that also includes Fifa’s first Peace Prize awarded to Donald Trump and the conduct of Gianni Infantino.
Why the Balogun case matters
The sequence of events has inevitably drawn attention. During the World Cup, Balogun was shown a straight red card in the United States’ 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina, but after that Donald Trump intervened and the ban was suspended for 12 months. Balogun then started the last-16 match against Belgium, which Belgium won 4-1.
For the Norwegian Football Federation, the concern is not only the disciplinary decision itself, but the way it fits into the broader questions already being asked about Fifa. Before the World Cup, the federation had already filed a complaint about Fifa’s so-called peace prize award during the draw in Washington before Christmas last year.
Klaveness said it was appropriate to include the Balogun case in the inquiry to Fifa’s ethics committee that Norway had made before the tournament. That makes this less of an isolated complaint and more of a continuing challenge to how these decisions are being handled.
A wider issue around Fifa leadership
The story sits within a broader dispute over Fifa leadership and the award of Fifa’s first Peace Prize to Donald Trump. On 6 July, Trump said at a news conference in the Oval Office that he had asked Fifa for a review, adding that he had spoken to Gianni Infantino and believed the incident was not a foul.
Trump called it a “great decision” and said: “I spoke to Gianni. So I saw the play, and I'm a person that loves sports and I understand sports really well, and that wasn't a foul.
“Yes, I asked for a review by Fifa. I spoke to a man who is highly respected. I asked for a review because I didn't think it was a foul. I didn't tell him what to do, I can't tell him what to do.”
That intervention has only intensified the debate. The article’s key point is that the Norwegian Football Federation is now weighing whether to take the matter further, and the next board meeting will determine whether the complaint is formally lodged.
The International Olympic Committee could also investigate Gianni Infantino, who has been an IOC member since 2020. The IOC has said complaints to its ethics commission are confidential, which adds another layer of sensitivity to a case that is already moving beyond one match, one ban and one disputed decision.
