Norway’s football chief told The Times that they plan to file a formal complaint with FIFA because the suspension of Folarin Balogun’s World Cup ban has put “the whole game at risk.”
Lise Klaveness, the president of the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF), says she will seek the backing of her board to lodge the complaint with FIFA’s ethics committee over an incident that “should not have happened”.
The NFF have already formally complained over FIFA president Gianni Infantino awarding football’s governing body’s inaugural Peace Prize to US President Donald Trump, which was widely ridiculed.
“I will bring it to a board meeting and discuss with my board, and then we do it,” Klaveness told The Times in an interview published on Thursday.
“To me, it should be in the same sphere of ethical complaint.”
Trump’s involvement in the Balogun affair sparked the controversy.
Balogun’s red card in the last-32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina resulted in an automatic suspension for the match with Belgium.
But FIFA stepped in and suspended his ban, leading to widespread condemnation, especially when it emerged that Trump had intervened by phoning Infantino.
Belgium appeared inspired by the row and thrashed the co-hosts 4-1.
“When you bend a rule like this, you’re on a slippery slope that will put the whole game at risk,” said Klaveness.
“It is a worry for the game when you compromise fundamental rules of the game.
“First of all, it should not have happened. It is very important now to have honest communication around it.
“We all know that this verdict was influenced by external forces and did not have the proper process.”
“We need our leader in FIFA to say that this was an error,” she added.
