Fifa to review disciplinary rules after Balogun ban controversy

Fifa’s council has agreed to review its disciplinary procedures after the controversy over US striker Folarin Balogun’s World Cup suspension. No rule change was announced after Thursday’s meeting in Zurich, and the council is due to hear from its legal committee in December. [2]

Balogun was sent off against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the 2026 World Cup. Fifa says its disciplinary committee suspended the resulting one-match ban for a probationary period of a year. The red card itself was not withdrawn. Nieuws.nl says the proposed rule change was intended to stop automatic one-match bans after red cards from being set aside. [2] [1]

Accounts differ over what happened to that proposal on Thursday. Nieuws.nl, carrying an ANP report citing comments by Fifa vice-president Debbie Hewitt to German news agency dpa, said it had been rejected. The Guardian reported that council members deferred it while seeking more information about Balogun. Fifa’s statement announced the review but did not specify how the proposal was dealt with. [1] [4] [2]

Belgian football association president and council member Pascale Van Damme says Fifa is working on an amendment to Article 27 of its disciplinary code, to be submitted for approval in Doha on 16 December. The association says Fifa will also provide further information about the Balogun decision. It has asked whether Fifa can rule out interference in the disciplinary proceedings, citing President Donald Trump’s publicly acknowledged intervention in the case. Fifa told the association that its disciplinary bodies make decisions independently. [3]