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Norway’s Football Federation (NFF) plans to file a formal complaint with FIFA over the decision to suspend Folarin Balogun’s World Cup ban, describing the move as a dangerous precedent that threatens the integrity of the game.
NFF President Lise Klaveness told The Times she would seek her board’s approval at a meeting on August 6 before referring the matter to FIFA’s ethics committee.
Klaveness said the complaint would be incorporated into an existing case the federation has already lodged against FIFA President Gianni Infantino over the governing body’s decision to award its inaugural Peace Prize to US President Donald Trump.
She said the Balogun case belonged in the same ethical category and insisted the decision should never have been made.
“I will bring it to a board meeting and discuss with my board, and then we do it,” Klaveness said.
“To me, it should be in the same sphere of ethical complaint.”
Balogun received a red card during the United States’ Round of 32 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina, triggering an automatic one-match suspension for the clash against Belgium.
However, FIFA later suspended the ban after Trump reportedly contacted Infantino, allowing Balogun to feature in the match, a decision that drew widespread criticism.
Klaveness argued that altering established rules under external influence undermines confidence in football’s disciplinary process.
She said the federation believes the decision was influenced by outside pressure rather than proper procedures and called on FIFA to acknowledge it as a mistake.
“When you bend a rule like this, you’re on a slippery slope that will put the whole game at risk,” said Klaveness.
“It is a worry for the game when you compromise fundamental rules of the game.
“First of all, it should not have happened. It is very important now to have honest communication around it.
“We all know that this verdict was influenced from external forces and did not have the proper process.
“We need our leader in FIFA to say that this was an error,” she added.
The Norwegian football chief also warned that allowing political leaders to influence sporting decisions could set a troubling precedent for the game.
“If you start to adapt in such a way towards state leaders and state politics, you will move your behaviour and the organisation’s behaviour, and also the red line of what states’ leaders should interfere with,” she said.
“And that happened.”
She criticised reports that FIFA disciplinary committee chairman Mohammad al-Kamali made the decision without consulting other committee members, saying controversial rulings should involve broader deliberation.
Klaveness added that the controversy could not simply be ignored, saying many within football, including players, coaches and supporters, believed the incident had crossed a line.
She also opposed proposals to expand the FIFA World Cup from 48 to 64 teams, arguing that the current format already represented a significant increase and that further expansion could undermine trust in the competition while placing additional strain on domestic football calendars.
“Smaller nations like ourselves, that haven’t been there for 20 years, showed the World Cup could be extended to 48 teams,” Klaveness said.
“It’s not in football’s interest, or even reasonable, to now start to talk about 64 teams — 48 teams was a big change.
“If you bring the discussion now to 64, and powerful people say it, you will create distrust.
“The World Cup should not interfere with the domestic leagues, or the confederations, more than it does today,” she added.
