Seventy-two members of the European Parliament have formally demanded an investigation into FIFA President Gianni Infantino, directly linking his conduct to Donald Trump's phone call requesting a review of Folarin Balogun's red card suspension. This isn't background noise — it's a coordinated political push targeting the governance of the sport's biggest tournament.
Balogun received a red card during the USA's round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, a sending-off that should have ruled him out of the next match against Belgium. Instead, FIFA invoked a discretionary clause in its disciplinary code to suspend the ban, letting Balogun play. The U.S. lost to Belgium regardless, but the damage to FIFA's credibility was already done.
Trump confirmed the call — Infantino confirmed it too
Trump told reporters he rang Infantino after the Bosnia game and asked for a review. He later posted on Truth Social thanking FIFA for "reversing a great injustice." Infantino confirmed the call happened but insisted he played no part in the actual decision, claiming FIFA's "independent judicial bodies" handled it without his influence.
That explanation has satisfied almost no one.
UEFA called the reversal "unjustifiable" and said it "crossed a red line," warning that when rules are bent by their own guardians, the credibility of the entire competition unravels. That's not rhetoric — it's a direct challenge to FIFA's authority to run its own disciplinary process.
The European lawmakers' letter pressed the presidents of European football associations to publicly back calls for a probe, arguing that FIFA's own statutes and Code of Ethics require strict political neutrality. The rule is explicit: FIFA must remain neutral in matters of politics. A sitting US president calling the FIFA president to lobby for a ruling on an American player is about as far from neutral as it gets.
The FIFA Peace Prize is also under scrutiny
This is the second letter from European Parliament members in recent days. Last week, 50 MEPs wrote directly to Infantino and the FIFA council supporting an ethics complaint filed by nonprofit FairSquare over FIFA's decision to award Trump the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize in December. Infantino, defending the award on Sky News, said Trump "objectively deserves it."
Two ethics controversies in one tournament. Both tied to the same sitting president. Both dismissed by Infantino.
Any integrity investigation would put FIFA's internal processes under a microscope at the worst possible time — with the United States co-hosting the 2026 World Cup in less than a year. Whether the pressure from 72 European lawmakers actually moves UEFA presidents to act is the real question now. Historically, football's governing bodies are slow to investigate themselves. That's precisely what the letter is trying to change.
