Norway plans Fifa complaint over Balogun ban suspension

OSLO: Norway's football federation is preparing to seek Fifa's ethics committee review over the suspension of Folarin Balogun's World Cup ban, according to Lise Klaveness, president of the Norwegian Football Federation.

Klaveness told The Times that she would place the matter before the NFF board and, if approved, move ahead with a formal complaint. She said the episode belonged in the same ethical category as the federation's earlier complaint over Fifa president Gianni Infantino awarding the governing body's first Peace Prize to US President Donald Trump.

Balogun was sent off in the United States' last-32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, triggering an automatic suspension for the following match against Belgium. Fifa later suspended that ban, a decision that drew criticism, particularly after it emerged that Trump had called Infantino about the case. Belgium then beat the co-hosts 4-1.

Klaveness said the issue had raised wider concerns about governance and sporting rules. In remarks to The Times, she argued that changing such a sanction under external pressure risked undermining the game and said the process had been compromised.

She said she would first discuss the matter with the federation's board before taking the next step.

"I will bring it to a board meeting and discuss with my board, and then we do it,"

She also said the matter should be treated as an ethical complaint.

"To me, it should be in the same sphere of ethical complaint."

Concerns over interference and process

Klaveness said it was troubling for football authorities to adjust their conduct in response to a head of state's wishes, warning that such a move could shift the line on how far political leaders should be able to intervene in the sport.

She further said it was important for Fifa to address the controversy openly and acknowledge what had happened. Klaveness said she believed the ruling had been affected by outside pressure and had not gone through the proper process.

"When you bend a rule like this, you're on a slippery slope that will put the whole game at risk,"

"It is a worry for the game when you compromise fundamental rules of the game."

"First of all, it should not have happened. It is very important now to have honest communication around it.

We all know that this verdict was influenced from external forces and did not have the proper process."

She added that Fifa's leadership should acknowledge the decision as a mistake.

"We need our leader in Fifa to say that this was an error,"

According to The Times, Klaveness was also critical of the way the decision was taken, saying the suspension of the ban had been decided solely by Mohammad al-Kamali, chairman of Fifa's disciplinary committee, without consultation with other committee members. She said controversial decisions, especially where a powerful outside voice was involved, required broader input.

"When you make controversial decisions, and when there has been an external, very powerful voice in your ear, it's very important that you have more voices (making the decision),"

"And if you don't, it's a mistake."

Klaveness said the matter could not simply be ignored because coaches, players and fans had all felt it came too close to interfering with the game.

"To try to sweep this under the carpet now will not fly,"

Wider criticism of Fifa proposals

Klaveness, a former Norway international and head of the NFF since 2022, also criticised a South American proposal to expand the World Cup from 48 teams to 64. She said countries like Norway, which returned to the finals after a 28-year absence and then lost to England in the quarter-finals, had shown that a 48-team tournament could already accommodate smaller nations.

She said moving immediately to discuss a 64-team finals after the increase to 48 would not be in football's interests and could deepen distrust if promoted by powerful figures. Klaveness also said the World Cup should not place any greater burden on domestic leagues and confederations than it already does.

"Smaller nations like ourselves, that haven't been there for 20 years, showed the World Cup could be extended to 48 teams,"

"It's not in football's interest, or even reasonable, to now start to talk about 64 teams — 48 teams was a big change.

If you bring the discussion now to 64, and powerful people say it, you will create distrust.

The World Cup should not interfere with the domestic leagues, or the confederations, more than it does today."

Klaveness also said she was not a candidate to challenge Infantino in next year's presidential election.