Trump's role in red-card dispute irks Norway | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Trump’s involvement in a World Cup red-card case involving Folarin Balogun is set to trigger a formal complaint to FIFA ethics investigators, Norway’s soccer federation said. The federation stated Thursday that its board will consider filing the complaint at its next meeting, likely on Aug. 6. Norwegian federation president Lise Klaveness told The Times that FIFA leadership should acknowledge the decision as an error. After Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Balogun’s mandatory one-game ban for his red-card tackle against Bosnia-Herzegovina was deferred, allowing him to play against Belgium with a quarterfinals berth at stake. Belgium then beat the U.S. 4-1 following a chaotic 36 hours at the tournament. Klaveness argued the ruling was influenced by external forces and lacked proper process, calling it unprecedented in the past 60 years at World Cups. Norway also joined a complaint from a London-based NGO alleging Infantino breached political neutrality, and FairSquare has filed a related ethics complaint with the International Olympic Committee.