La Liga president Javier Tebas has criticised the “complicit silence” which surrounds Fifa after United States striker Folarin Balogun was controversially spared from suspension at the 2026 World Cup.
Balogun was able to play in the 4-1 defeat to Belgium in the last 16 after Fifa’s disciplinary committee opted to suspend his one-game ban for 12 months.
Uefa, which has been at loggerheads with Fifa over a number of issues, strongly criticised the decision on Monday, calling it “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable”.
But outside of Europe there has been little noise about Fifa’s decision from football officials.
Conmebol, the South American football confederation, issued a statement to back its referee, Raphael Claus, after US president Donald Trump called the Brazilian “a bit suspect”.
But it did not criticise Fifa or Trump, who revealed he asked for the ban to be reviewed.
Claus was the referee who showed Balogun the red card against Bosnia-Herzegovia following a video assistant referee review.
Tebas said that the Balogun decision was the “tip of the iceberg” following a series of events which had been “eroding the credibility of Fifa and football in general for many years”.
The 63-year-old accused Fifa of being a closed shop in which decisions have been made before any vote takes place and without consultation with domestic leagues.
“And the worst of all is that much of the football world is aware of it, but too many prefer to maintain a complicit silence,” Tebas said on X.
“Because staying quiet is more comfortable than defending independence, transparency, and good governance.
“World football deserves institutions that are accountable, respect the rules, and govern with transparency – not through unilateral, discretionary, arbitrary decisions that erode the trust of fans, clubs, leagues, and players.”
