Football’s global governing body is expected to change a rule that allowed USA forward Folarin Balogun’s World Cup red card to be overturned, according to media reports ahead of Thursday’s FIFA council meeting in Zurich.
It is the council’s first gathering since the tournament, and a motion to stop such decisions in future is at the top of the agenda. Members will also discuss the organisation’s funding, its rules and other matters at a turbulent time for the sport.
How Balogun’s red card was overturned
During the round-of-32 match, Balogun was sent off for stepping awkwardly on the right ankle of Bosnia’s Tarik Muharemovic, in a 2-0 win for the home side. The dismissal carried an automatic one-game suspension.
United States President Donald Trump then urged FIFA President Gianni Infantino to review the case. The red card was overturned, which allowed Balogun to play in the USA’s round-of-16 match against Belgium.
Criticism and calls for the case files
The reversal sparked one of the tournament’s biggest controversies, drawing criticism from football federations, former FIFA officials, experts and coaches. The 37-member council is expected to vote on whether disciplinary committees can cancel automatic suspensions at the World Cup, but the row is unlikely to fade quickly.
FIFA Vice President Debbie Hewitt is among the leaders who have asked Infantino to release all documents linked to the case.
Infantino faces pressure over governance
Thursday’s meeting is the first since Infantino came under fire earlier this year over a plan, now shelved, to sell a 20 percent stake in the World Cup’s commercial business to private investors. Leaders of three regional confederations, UEFA, AFC and CONCACAF, have called for him to resign, and their representatives will attend in Zurich alongside counterparts from Africa, South America and Oceania.
The council will also review the failed FIFA Forward Enterprise scheme, which Infantino dropped within days of unveiling it in July. Under that plan, he proposed selling a minority stake in a FIFA commercial subsidiary, with a company launched by Joshua Kushner, brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, named as the proposed lead investor.
Some of the sport’s most powerful figures are reportedly determined to limit Infantino’s powers if they cannot force him out. Infantino, 56, will stand for re-election in March 2027, and potential candidates must submit nominations by November 18.
