The Belgian Football Federation has announced it will withhold its support for Gianni Infantino, the incumbent FIFA president’s attempt at re-election, claiming concerns over the ethics and transparency of world soccer’s governing body.
The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA), which will have a chance to cast its ballot for Infantino in his bid to remain FIFA president, said it is unable to do so due to open questions surrounding both the FIFA Forward Enterprise case and the postponement of U.S. Forward Folarin Balogun’s ban from playing in matches.
The federation in Belgium stated that “in relation to FIFA Forward Enterprise and the postponed suspension of Folarin Balogun, a series of crucial choices were made at FIFA for which sufficient justifications were absent.”
The federation added that, “as a result thereof, the RBFA noticed that in this affair of a number of crucial choices, the RBFA could note that for these crucial decisions/evaluations sufficient justifications were absent up to this point in time.”
The Balogun controversy surfaced after the US striker received a single-match ban for his red card against Bosnia-Herzegovina, with Infantino, via phone with U.S. President Donald Trump, reportedly postponing the ban, allowing Balogun to face Belgium in the last 16 on June 29.
Belgium won the tie against USMNT 4-1. RBFA president Pascale Van Damme stated that the federation’s concerns could not be clarified two months later with Infantino, who is seeking a further term through 2031, while opposition among European federations remained substantial.
