WAYNE Rooney has torn into FIFA president Gianni Infantino, telling him he should be “ashamed of himself” for the decision to suspend Folarin Balogun’s red card ban for a year.
The USA striker, who has impressed at his home World Cup, scoring three goals and providing one assist in the three matches he has played thus far, was sent off against Bosnia & Herzegovina in the round of 32 match last week.
Balogun was initially not sent off, but after a VAR review, referee Raphael Claus deemed it to have been serious foul play, with the replays showing the striker planted his studs down the back of Tarik Muharemovic’s achilles and turning his ankle.
Balogun felt red card decision was harsh
It was an innocuous incident, with Balogun clearly showing no intent as he vied for the ball, trying simply to plant his foot in the ground as he challenged for possession, but the rules are clear and the incident did not look good when watched back.
Speaking after the game, Balogun said: “I think as you all saw, if there’s nowhere else to put your leg, it’s going to be unavoidable. I’ve seen many different opinions and takes, but, for me personally, I think a yellow card would have been fair.”
Balogun was expected to miss the USA’s round of 16 clash with Belgium as a result of the sending off, but FIFA have suspended the ban for a year, with US president Donald Trump thanking them for “doing what was right”.
It is understood that Trump lobbied FIFA to lift the ban.
FIFA have stated that the ban was suspended “in line with Article 27 of the FIFA disciplinary code, which allows it to suspend red cards so long as the discipline is not related to match-fixing”.
Speaking on the BBC, Rooney could not believe the decision.
He said: “I think it’s an absolute disgrace, I really do. I know it was UEFA but I got a three-game ban before Euro 2012 so I was due to miss the three group games and I got asked, or basically told that if I go over to Switzerland and do a training session with a bunch of kids the third game gets taken off.
“I agreed to do it because I didn’t want the three-game ban but I thought it was wrong. But for this to be suspended, they either take the red card away, which I think is probably the right decision and then he can play but to suspend it for a year I think is an absolute disgrace,” Rooney said.
