[Saba Sports News] According to British media reports, the controversial ruling to defer striker Folarin Balogun’s suspension was made entirely by Mohammad Al Kamali, Chairperson of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, with the other 17 committee members not consulted on the case. Despite the far-reaching implications of this verdict, Al Kamali took the decision single-handedly. This judgment breaks the long-standing precedent for all previous World Cup disciplinary cases. Traditionally, any player sent off with a red card would serve an automatic suspension, and this incident has drawn mounting criticism toward FIFA. Al Kamali handed Balogun a one-match ban, but suspended the sanction for one year. The United States’ top marksman was dismissed for a serious foul, an offence that ordinarily warrants a two-game suspension. Thanks to the deferred punishment, Balogun was available for the US’s World Cup Round of 16 tie against host nation Belgium, which the USA lost 1-4.
The editor believes that FIFA’s refusal to release the written reasoning behind the verdict in Folarin Balogun’s case, as well as its reluctance to explain why Balogun’s suspension was deferred, has further increased the lack of transparency surrounding this matter.