Forget Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland – might the true star of this year’s World Cup be… UEFA, European football’s governing body?
The body is having a blinder of a tournament in acting as the moral antidote to FIFA’s increasingly absurd competition and its Trumpite overlords, acting first over the refusal to allow a Somali refugee to enter the US and now leading the condemnation of the decision to overturn an American player’s suspension because the man in the White House demanded it.
At the start of the tournament, UEFA was quick to act when US officials refused to allow Omar Artan, considered one of Africa’s best referees, into the country, despite being appointed by FIFA and having all the correct visa documentation, including a diplomatic passport.
Artan was interrogated for 11 hours by US immigration authorities at Miami International Airport before being told he would not be allowed into the country because of an alleged “association with suspected members of terror organisations”. He said he had been questioned by border officials over his links to the militant group Al Shabab despite telling them he knew nothing about the organisation.
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After Gianni Infantino, the Trump-supporting FIFA president who gave him an absurd peace prize, said that “we need to respect that we are not the kings of the world who can rule over governments and police forces” and “sometimes it’s good to chill, relax”, UEFA stepped in.
Artan will now referee the coming season’s UEFA Super Cup, the traditional curtain-raiser between the reigning Champions League and Europa League holders, making him the first non-European to take charge. The Somali will blow the whistle when Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa meet in Salzburg next month. “Football is made to connect people, and UEFA wants to show its respect to Omar and his outstanding officiating skills,” said UEFA’s president, Aleksander Ceferin.
Now the European body has poked its nose into Infantino’s tournament again, becoming the most high-profile body to criticise the unprecedented decision not to uphold US striker Folarin Balogun’s automatic one-game ban for a red card, seemingly after Trump phoned Infantino and told him to.
Balogun, who was sent off against Bosnia and Herzegovina, should have been suspended for the last-16 tie against Belgium, but FIFA overturned it, allowing him to play.
CBS News confirmed that Balogun’s reinstatement came after Trump called Infantino and spoke about the suspension. Trump later posted on social media, thanking FIFA for “reversing a great injustice”. Secretary of state Marco Rubio had also demanded that the suspension be lifted.
Now UEFA have had their say about that, describing it as “an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision”.
The automatic suspension of one match “is not a discretionary option” and is “a principle embedded in regulations”, a statement said, adding: “When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined.
“Equally, such a decision creates a precedent in the ongoing tournament, where similar situations will now require an equal treatment, to the detriment of the competition.”
It says much about the state of FIFA and its bending to every Trump whim that another sporting organisation has managed to appear like the voice of morality. Still, perhaps people shouldn’t get too giddy. Before becoming the king of all football, Infantino was previously secretary general of… UEFA.
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