IOC declines to investigate Gianni Infantino over Trump’s call about Folarin Balogun red card
The International Olympic Committee announced Friday that it will not investigate Gianni Infantino regarding President Donald Trump’s call to him about Folarin Balogun’s controversial red card.
The USMNT star received a red card in the round of 32 of the World Cup, which initially made him ineligible to play in the next round.
However, FIFA decided to suspend the red card, which made Balogun eligible. Trump later said he called Infantino and asked for a review, but FIFA claimed it was not influenced by Trump.
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The ruling added to what was already a huge controversy, as it was argued Balogun should not have been red-carded in the first place. Nonetheless, Balogun was active despite an appeal and a strong reaction from Belgium.
A London-based NGO formally complained this month to the IOC ethics commission about Infantino. The IOC’s Olympic Charter cites neutrality among “fundamental principles of Olympism” for sports bodies like FIFA and its 100-plus members, which have included Infantino since 2020.
No formal investigation will be opened, the IOC said, because the complaint by the rights group FairSquare did not relate to FIFA’s or Infantino’s specific relations with the Olympic body.
The complaint “refers only to (FIFA’s) decisions on its governance and its management, including its relations with government, and to (FIFA’s) implementation of the rules of its sport,” the IOC said in a statement.
“Consequently, the complaint falls outside the IOC ethics commission’s jurisdiction,” the statement continued.
“All I did was, I asked for a review, because I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump said at the time. “And 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.
“I think it’s a terrible… if they wouldn’t allow a top player, maybe the best, maybe among the best on the team, to play, I think it would have had a big stain. I relayed it. I didn’t tell him what to do. I don’t believe he made the decision. I think it was a committee that made the decision, and they made the right decision because, No. 1, it wasn’t a foul, and you want to see a game with your best players.”
Balogun being active did not help, as the U.S. lost to Belgium, 4-1.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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