Norway to make formal complaint to FIFA over Balogun red card saga

Published On 23 Jul 202623 Jul 2026Norway’s football chief has told The Times daily they are set to make a formal complaint to FIFA over the suspension of Folarin Balogun’s World Cup ban because it 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 has already lodged a complaint over FIFA’s inaugural Peace Prize to United States President Donald Trump by its chief, Gianni Infantino, 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 led to 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 inspir...