Norway challenges Trump's role in Balogun case

Despite the conclusion of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Norwegian Football Association President Lise Klaveness has confirmed that the association will file a formal complaint with FIFA's Ethics Committee over US President Donald Trump's alleged interference in the Folarin Balogun suspension case, SPORTbible reports.

Speaking to The Times, Klaveness said the case was so serious and so worrying that she hopes it might encourage people to speak out and not be afraid to raise such issues.

She argued that controversial decisions should never be made under the influence of a single powerful external figure.

“I will bring it to a board meeting and discuss with my board, and then we do it. To me, it should be in the same sphere of ethical complaint," she noted.

According to The Times, the complaint follows an earlier objection lodged by the Norwegian FA over FIFA's decision to award Trump the FIFA Peace Prize in December.

Klaveness call on FIFA President Gianni Infantino to acknowledge that the governing body had made a mistake in handling the Balogun case.

"When you bend a rule like this, you're on a slippery slope that will put the whole game at risk. 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.

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. And that happened.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov