Norway’s football association will lodge an official complaint with FIFA after its president, Lisa Klaveness, alleged that a phone call from former United States president Donald Trump to Gianni Infantino preceded the lifting of a suspension for USA striker Folarin Balogun.
Klaveness said Trump contacted the FIFA president during the most recent World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, to urge him to cancel a ban handed to Balogun following a red card earlier in the tournament.
Balogun’s suspension was subsequently overturned, a decision Infantino has insisted was not influenced by the call from Trump. While many analysts believed the sending-off itself was harsh, the handling of the case and the intervention claim became one of the dominant controversies of the second half of the competition.
In an interview with British newspaper The Times, Klaveness accused FIFA officials of seeking to conceal details of what happened and urged Infantino to accept that lifting Balogun’s suspension was a mistake.
“Cover-up” accusations
Klaveness, a former Norway international who became president of the Norwegian Football Federation, said she intends to escalate the matter through FIFA’s formal channels, arguing that the case raises serious questions about governance and integrity at the organisation.
She criticised what she described as a lack of transparency from FIFA over the process that led to Balogun’s ban being overturned, and claimed there had been an attempt to “cover up” the extent of Trump’s involvement.
Infantino has rejected any suggestion that Trump’s intervention influenced the disciplinary outcome, maintaining that the decision was made independently and in line with FIFA regulations.
However, Klaveness insisted FIFA should acknowledge that the ruling to clear Balogun to play on was incorrect, particularly given the broader scrutiny on refereeing and disciplinary decisions during the tournament.
Long‐running tensions with FIFA leadership
Klaveness has become one of FIFA’s most outspoken internal critics in recent years, frequently challenging both the organisation’s leadership and its decision-making.
Her latest move adds to a pattern of public disagreements with Infantino, whose presidency enjoys strong backing in many regions outside Europe.
Infantino’s popularity among a large number of FIFA’s member associations has been bolstered by his push to expand the men’s World Cup to a 48-team format, a reform that significantly increases participation opportunities for countries across Africa, Asia and North and Central America.
That expansion is widely regarded within FIFA as a key factor strengthening Infantino’s position ahead of next year’s presidential vote, when he is expected to stand for another term as head of world football’s governing body.
Norway’s decision to press ahead with a formal complaint over the Balogun case is likely to deepen the rift between the Norwegian FA and FIFA’s leadership, and to keep the debate over political influence and disciplinary independence at the top of the global game firmly in the spotlight.
