FIFA is to review its disciplinary procedures and examine the FIFA Peace Prize after controversy surrounding the suspension of United States forward Folarin Balogun’s ban and the presentation of the award to US President Donald Trump.
The decisions were taken at Thursday’s FIFA Council meeting in Zurich, with reports on both matters expected at the Council’s next meeting in December 2026.
FIFA’s Legal Committee will assess the organisation’s disciplinary procedures after its independent Disciplinary Committee suspended Balogun’s one-match ban for a probationary period of one year.
Balogun was sent off during the United States’ match against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the 2026 World Cup. Because the suspension was put on hold, he was not required to serve the immediate one-match ban.
The ruling prompted questions over the way FIFA’s disciplinary regulations are applied. FIFA said the Legal Committee would present its findings to the Council in December.
The Council also asked FIFA’s Football Social Responsibility Committee to review the FIFA Peace Prize. A decision on the future of the award is likewise expected in December.
The prize was created in 2025 and was presented to Trump during the draw for the 2026 World Cup. Both the decision to establish the award and its presentation to the US president attracted criticism from some observers, who questioned its purpose and the process used to decide its recipient.
The reviews come as FIFA president Gianni Infantino faces wider scrutiny over the organisation’s governance.
That scrutiny has increased following the withdrawal of the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise investment initiative, although no further details about the withdrawal were provided.
The FIFA Council has also agreed to create a working group to examine the organisation’s governance framework.
The group will include representatives from each of FIFA’s six confederations, giving all regions of the organisation a role in the review.
