American team player Barlogon's red card suspension was postponed, causing significant controversy.
The Times reported on July 12 local time that this decision was made solely by Mohamed Kamel, the chairman of FIFA’s disciplinary committee. The other 17 members of the committee were not involved in this decision.
Regarding this, FIFA did not comment.
The report indicates that this decision goes against the usual practice in all World Cup disciplinary cases, where players who receive a red card are automatically suspended from playing. This decision also raises further questions for FIFA.
It is reported that many of FIFA’s disciplinary cases in the past were decided by individual committee members, usually the vice-chairman, Jorge Perez, from Colombia. According to the rulings on over 100 previous cases that have been published, Karmely has never served as the sole judge in these cases. More important cases are usually decided by a group of three committee members.
According to reports, FIFA’s refusal to disclose the written reasons for the decision in the Barrogo case has sparked doubts among other senior figures in football, further exacerbating the crisis of transparency surrounding this matter.
USA Forward Vladimír Bala conséquent photo
On July 2, in the quarter-final match between the US team and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Barlogon was sent off with a red card for stepping on the ankle of opposing player Tarik Mujharimovic. According to regulations, Barlogon will be automatically suspended and unable to participate in the next game of his team.
On the 5th, FIFA announced that American player Fularin Barlogon, who was sent off with a red card during the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, will be suspended for one match, but the suspension will be postponed by one year.
On the 6th, U.S. President Donald Trump stated in the Oval Office that he had personally requested a review of Ignatianto’s suspension from Barroso. “All I did was request a review. I didn’t say ‘you must do this.’”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino also admitted on the same day that he indeed spoke with Trump, but insisted that FIFA's judicial body is independent.
On that day, the FIFA Appeal Committee ruled that the request from the Belgian Football Federation regarding Baloteng’s temporary exemption from suspension was 'inadmissible'.
The FIFA explained in a statement that the Belgian football association is not a party involved, and therefore has no right to appeal against this decision.
Regarding this matter, UEFA issued a statement saying that this move is "unexplained" and "goes beyond the red line".
The European Commission has also rarely intervened in football matters. It stated, "We respect the autonomy of sports organizations and the FIFA's right to decide the standards for participants in matches. However, any such decisions should clearly be based on objective and transparent criteria. We support the principles of fair competition and transparent competition."
Late on the 6th local time, the United States team was defeated by Belgium 1-4, stopping at the round of 16.
