IFSO questions FIFA move as Balogun cleared to face Belgium | OneFootball

FIFA’s decision to let Folarin Balogun play the last 16 against Belgium, waiving for one year the automatic one-match suspension for the AS Monaco striker’s red card, has sparked fresh reaction. On Monday, US president Donald Trump confirmed he had asked FIFA to reconsider the dismissal.

In a statement on Monday, the Fédération Internationale pour les juges et arbitres sportifs, IFSO, said the independence of refereeing decisions is a fundamental principle and a cornerstone of the rule of law in sport and its autonomous governance.

When certainty of the rules is not guaranteed and on-field decisions are reinterpreted beyond the Laws of the Game, the issue reaches far beyond a single incident. Competition integrity, institutional credibility, legal certainty and trust in sport’s self-governance are placed at risk.

The episode comes only weeks after Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan, officially appointed for the FIFA World Cup, ultimately did not take part in the tournament.

Although the situations differ, both highlight a recurring problem in which, before competitions and long after full time, referees become the adjustment variable for decisions beyond their remit. UEFA has publicly backed its refereeing team and the integrity of on-field decision making, underlining that the independence of refereeing is inseparable from good governance, legal certainty and the autonomy of sport.

IFSO was founded on 8 March 2019 in The Hague through cooperation between the City of The Hague, the Netherlands Olympic Committee and France’s AFCAM, coordinated by Dutch sports marketing firm SportVibes, and is dedicated to promoting officiating worldwide.

Source: L'Équipe