Following FIFA’s controversial decision in the Folarin Balogun case, Jürgen Klopp and Norway national team coach Stale Solbakken also voiced sharp criticism of the world governing body.
Incoming Germany head coach Jürgen Klopp reacted with disbelief to the unprecedented background of the “Balogun case.” “If Trump and Infantino really worked this out between themselves, that’s crazy, it calls everything into question,” said the 59-year-old, the DFB’s preferred candidate to succeed Julian Nagelsmann, on MagentaTV.
On Sunday, world football governing body FIFA suspended the ban on U.S. striker Folarin Balogun from the World Cup round-of-16 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina (2–0), placing it on probation instead. This means Balogun is eligible to play for the United States against Belgium in the round of 16 on Monday evening (local time). According to AFP and The New York Times, U.S. President Donald Trump personally called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to ask him to review the red card.
“There really aren’t two opinions about it. If that is indeed what happened, there is still the possibility that the U.S. won’t play him anyway because they say, ‘We don’t want it like this,’” Klopp said, adding: “We all suffer from wrong decisions. But over the course of life, we all learn to live with them. And this is simply a factual decision by the officials.”
Norway national team coach Stale Solbakken, meanwhile, called it a “big mistake” by FIFA. It was “a bad, bad, bad decision that will damage the World Cup,” he said after Norway reached the quarterfinals against Brazil (2–1): “I also feel sorry for the USA. If they win, it will always hang over them. That is not good for the sport.”
Solbakken believes the decision sets a dangerous precedent. “What about the next red card? What happens then? Will there be some panel somewhere in the future that simply overturns cards like this?” Solbakken asked.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.
