TEHRAN – Football should never forget the controversy surrounding Folarin Balogun after FIFA apparently broke its own rules by allowing the U.S. striker to play against Belgium in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 16.

Balogun had received a red card in the Round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina and, under the competition's disciplinary rules, should have served a one-match suspension. Instead, FIFA allowed him to take the field against Belgium.

How can FIFA ask players and teams to respect its rules when it is willing to bend them itself?

George Orwell's Animal Farm famously states, "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." FIFA's handling of Balogun's suspension inevitably brings that line to mind.

Justice requires neutrality, and football can only maintain its credibility when the rules are applied equally to everyone, regardless of status or political influence.

Although the United States eventually lost 4-1 to Belgium and failed to advance, the result does not erase the controversy. The issue is not whether Balogun changed the outcome, but whether the rules were enforced fairly. A red-card suspension should not become meaningless because of outside intervention.

FIFA announced that Balogun's one-match ban had been lifted after U.S. President Donald Trump urged FIFA president Gianni Infantino to review the case.

The decision drew criticism from Belgium's football association, European football officials, former FIFA executives, former players and many others, who warned that it set a dangerous precedent.

When politics overturns a sporting punishment, football loses its credibility.

Football belongs to the people, not politicians.

If Infantino is right that Trump personally intervened and the suspension was lifted afterward, FIFA has set a dangerous precedent. Rules cannot depend on who picks up the phone.

Photo: Reuters