FIFA wants to make sure no one can ever do what it did for Folarin Balogun again — which would be more reassuring if FIFA hadn't done it in the first place.
At Thursday's FIFA Council meeting in Zurich, Gianni Infantino will push through an amendment to the disciplinary code that would permanently ban the suspension of automatic one-match bans during tournaments. The change targets Article 27, the clause invoked to allow Balogun to play the round-of-16 match against Belgium despite picking up a red card in the USA's win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The trigger for that intervention, according to reporting by The Athletic, was a phone call from Donald Trump to Infantino. FIFA maintained throughout that the decision came from its independent disciplinary panel. Infantino has consistently denied any personal role. UEFA called the outcome "incomprehensible" and said it "crossed a red line." The USA lost 4-1 to Belgium and went home regardless.
Rule change or reputation repair?
The amendment is being framed as protecting "stability and predictability regarding player eligibility" and the "integrity of competitions." Hard to argue with that in principle. The problem, according to sources close to FIFA Council members, is that the proposed wording only landed in members' inboxes on Tuesday night — fewer than 48 hours before the vote. That's not how you build consensus. That's how you railroad something through before anyone can push back.
Those same sources, speaking anonymously because they weren't authorised to comment publicly, argue the rules weren't unclear to begin with. They only need fixing because of an extraordinary and deeply questionable decision to waive them. Closing the loophole is the right call. But presenting it as a governance win, rather than damage control, takes some nerve.
Infantino is doing what cornered football presidents do: legislate away the scandal. The English FA's Debbie Hewitt had already written to him requesting all documents related to the Balogun case. UEFA and Concacaf have called for leadership change. His attempt to sell FIFA's commercial operations to private U.S. investors collapsed. The FIFA Peace Prize handed to Trump didn't help the optics either.
Why Infantino is still standing
And yet, going into Thursday's meeting, Infantino looks more secure than he did two months ago. The African Football Confederation is fully behind him. South America is unanimous. Concacaf president Victor Montagliani, who looked like a potential challenger, decided against running. PSG's Nasser Al-Khelaifi also passed. With no credible rival in the field ahead of the FIFA presidential election, Infantino heads towards a fourth term.
That political reality shapes everything about this rule change. It's not coming from a place of principled reform — it's coming from a president who needs to reassure enough of his electorate that the World Cup red card mess won't define his legacy. Whether it works depends on whether FIFA members have short memories.
Given how FIFA elections tend to go, they usually do.
