Belgium is the latest country to join the opposition to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who was recently confirmed by FIFA to run for re-election in March 2027, and whose policies, particularly the failed plan to privatise part of World Cup, have divided the world of football. The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) issued a statement on Monday saying they “cannot support Infantino’s campaign”.
Of course, the RBFA cite the “FIFA Forward Enterprise” case, how the plan to sell off 20% of World Cup to private investors was created and announced behind the backs of all country members. For the Belgian, “a number of important decisions and assessments have, to date, not been sufficiently substantiated by adequate justifications. This raises questions regarding the transparency and governance of this process.”
But Belgium has another, more specific reason to not trust Infantino: the Folarin Balogun’s red card case during World Cup, when Infantino, after being personally called by Donald Trump, lifted a red card on the US striker, breaking all of FIFA’s own rules.
“Despite our explicit requests for (1) a clear justification of the decisions taken and (2) details on how such situations will be handled in the future, we have not yet received any satisfactory response on this matter. Once again, the RBFA believes that complete transparency and clear explanations are essential”, they said, adding that they have asked FIFA to include the Balogun case in the agenda for the next FIFA Council meeting on October 15.
The Athenian / Shutterstock