Sepp Blatter, the disgraced ex-FIFA president, questioned the football body's decision to overturn a red card suspension on Monday. He expressed concern after sources told AFP that US President Donald Trump had contacted FIFA chief Gianni Infantino to review the ban.
The suspension belonged to American striker Folarin Balogun, 25, who was automatically banned for one game following his red card. FIFA lifted the ban without explanation, clearing him to play Belgium in the World Cup knockout round later that day.
"Red cards are not overturned by political phone calls," Blatter said on X. "They are overturned by rules, evidence and independent bodies."
Blatter, 90, warned that presidential intervention in football decisions posed a serious threat to the sport. "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: where is FIFA headed?" he asked.
"Football must never become a playground for political power," the former administrator added. He has repeatedly clashed with Infantino, telling German newspaper Bild in February that FIFA had become a "dictatorship".
Blatter stepped down in 2015 during a corruption scandal and received a lifetime ban from football through FIFA's ethics committee. UEFA, Belgium coach Rudi Garcia, and ex-Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp have all criticised FIFA's handling of Balogun's case.
