The Norwegian Football Federation is preparing to file a formal complaint with FIFA`s Ethics Committee over US President Donald Trump`s intervention in a World Cup red card case, president Lise Klaveness confirmed in an interview with The Times published on Thursday, AFP reported. The decision follows FIFA`s controversial deferral of a one-match ban handed to United States striker Folarin Balogun during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Klaveness stated that she intends to seek official authorization from her board during an upcoming meeting on August 6 before submitting the complaint to the governing body.
The controversy erupted when Balogun was shown a direct red card in the 64th minute during the United States` 2-0 victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32. Standard FIFA regulations dictate an automatic one-match suspension for a straight red card, which would have sidelined Balogun for the round of 16 clash against Belgium. However, following a direct phone call between President Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino, FIFA`s Disciplinary Committee applied Article 27 of its code to suspend the implementation of the ban for a one-year probationary period alongside a 40,000 USD fine.
Expressing deep concern over the integrity of the sport, Klaveness warned that bending fundamental regulations to accommodate political leaders sets a perilous precedent that compromises global football. She noted that the decision was taken unilaterally by the chairman of FIFA`s Disciplinary Committee, Mohammad al-Kamali, without consulting the other members of the committee. Klaveness emphasized that when external political forces exert influence over disciplinary processes, failure to involve broader institutional representation represents a severe flaw in governance.
The Norwegian Football Federation had previously submitted a formal ethics complaint against FIFA regarding Infantino`s decision to award Trump the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize. Klaveness confirmed that the federation now intends to merge the Balogun incident into that existing case, treating both matters under the umbrella of political neutrality violations. She insisted that allowing political figures to dictate disciplinary outcomes creates mistrust among member nations and damages the credibility of international tournaments.
Klaveness, a former international player and lawyer who has led the Norwegian federation since 2022, argued that the incident cannot simply be buried or forgotten by soccer authorities. She highlighted that players, coaches, and supporters worldwide recognized how dangerously close political influence came to interfering with on-field outcomes. What remains unclear is whether FIFA`s independent ethics bodies will take meaningful action to address the complaint or allow political pressure to redefine governance standards.
Additionally, the former Norwegian international voiced criticism against separate proposals pushed by South American officials to expand future World Cups from 48 to 64 teams. She argued that such drastic expansions risk overwhelming domestic league calendars and eroding the quality of global competition. According to Klaveness, smaller footballing nations demonstrated that the 48-team format was already a massive transition, and pushing further would only generate distrust across confederations.
