MEPs demand investigation against Infantino after Trump's call to FIFA

Criticism from Austria

The MEPs accuse the FIFA leadership of blurring the lines between sport and politics by intervening in favour of a political matter. According to the dpa news agency, Fuglsang declared that a red line had been crossed. "Wenn der FIFA-Präsident die Grenzen zwischen Sport und Politik verwischt, wird die Integrität des Spiels dadurch riskiert", the letter states.

Austrian ÖFB supervisory board chairman Josef Pröll also demanded clarification. "Die kolportierten Vorgänge vermitteln zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt ein äußerst bedenkliches Bild und gefährden das Vertrauen in unseren Sport." FIFA must, in the interest of football, disclose the decision of the bodies and the entire process of how it was reached "lückenlos und transparent offenlegen", Pröll told APA.

Demand for transparency

SPÖ MEP Hannes Heide, his parliamentary group's spokesperson on sports policy, is also among the signatories. "Die FIFA muss jetzt lückenlos offenlegen, wie diese Entscheidung zustande gekommen ist und welche Rolle Gianni Infantino dabei gespielt hat", he declared. Sport must never become a political plaything, and national associations are called upon to push for full transparency.

Referring to European football association UEFA, the letter states: "Die UEFA bringt es auf den Punkt: Wer die Verlässlichkeit der Regeln infrage stellt, gefährdet die Integrität des Fußballs." The MEPs call on the European associations to jointly press FIFA for an independent clarification of the events.

The initiative comes in the hot phase of the FIFA World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada, which kicked off on 11 June. Infantino has been the subject of criticism for years, both over his leadership style and his political network. With the current incident, the MEPs see the world body's obligation of neutrality as violated.

Infantino on the defensive

Balogun himself had been in the starting lineup before the match against Belgium, but was unable to prevent the defeat. Under the regulations, the suspension would in any case have expired only after a red-card ban had been served, in time for a possible quarter-final. However, the actual point of conflict is not the sporting outcome, but the question of whether political pressure on the world body has influenced competition decisions.

Infantino had most recently been seen during the round of 16 match between Switzerland and Colombia, when he grinningly posed on the stand with an Egyptian flag that had been handed to him. That image also sparked debate because it showed the FIFA President acting politically. The MEPs see a pattern in this.

The letter is part of a growing number of demands for a transparent clarification of the case. In addition to the European associations, national football associations in the EU member states are being addressed directly. The deadline for signing expired on Wednesday evening, and the initiators then wanted to forward the letter to UEFA and the national associations.

Meanwhile, the incident is also preoccupying the Egyptian side: Egypt's national team coach Hossam Hassan publicly expressed displeasure after his team's bitter exit in the round of 16 against Argentina (2-3). He said, among other things, that his team had been better than the world champions, but that the result had been influenced by internal and external factors. The Egyptian association has officially lodged a complaint with FIFA.

Complaint from Cairo

The World Cup tournament runs until July and will continue on Sunday with the quarter-final matches. Following the dramatic penalty shoot-out victory against Colombia, Switzerland will face defending champions Argentina; France will play Morocco. England will meet Norway in the quarter-finals without the travelling Prince William.

The sports policy debate surrounding FIFA is likely to overshadow the sporting headlines of the coming days. The MEPs announced that they would await the responses from the national associations and then consider further steps.

Outlook: Quarter-finals and structures

Parallel to the discussions about the FIFA leadership, attention at the World Cup is also focused on the German team. DFB sporting director Rudi Völler announced in Frankfurt that former 2014 world champions such as Per Mertesacker, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mats Hummels, Thomas Müller and Sami Khedira would be more closely integrated into the association's structures. According to record national team player Lothar Matthäus, the designated national team coach Jürgen Klopp should be given all the necessary time and authority to do so.