Balogun U-turn ‘most serious incident’ – Tebas

Folarin Balogun’s overturned red card at the World Cup is the “most serious incident in the history of football,” according to the LaLiga president.

The United States striker was sent off in his side’s round of 32 win against Bosnia & Herzegovina for a foul on Tarik Muharemović.

But Balogun’s one-game ban was reversed, a day before the USMNT were due to play Belgium in the round of 16.

After FIFA announced their decision, U.S. President Donald Trump said that he called Gianni Infantino to ask for a review into the incident. Infantino said the decision was not influenced by Trump. Balogun was handed a suspended ban enabling him to play against Belgium, but the UMSNT lost and were eliminated from the World Cup.

“We have FIFA, which has overturned a red card because the president of a country called the FIFA president,” Javier Tebas said at a FIFPro event in London.

“This is the most serious incident in the history of football. I think that, for this to be resolved, the issue of governance has to be addressed clearly.”

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The president of Spain’s top division has also recently criticised Infantino, after his failed plan to seek private investment in a company which would run FIFA’s competitions.

“Gianni Infantino is not someone who contributes to the growth of football,” Tebas told Le Monde.

“On the contrary, his projects are destroying the very essence of the sport: the national leagues.

“Football is not limited to the elite. For me, the Infantino era is over.”