Members of the European Parliament, Barry Andrews, Lara Wolters, and Nils Fuglsang, said in a joint statement on Tuesday that FIFA’s decision to amend the rule for suspensions resulting from red cards during the tournament “constitutes a scandal and a violation of the principles of justice.”
The representatives called on the national football federations in the European Union countries to put pressure on the FIFA Ethics Committee to open an investigation into Infantino, with the aim of verifying whether pressure from the Trump administration had contributed to lifting the suspension, in addition to examining “possible violations of the principle of political neutrality,” including awarding Trump the “FIFA Peace Prize,” according to the ESPN sports network.
On the other hand, FIFA confirmed that the decision to lift the suspension was issued by the Federation’s Disciplinary Committee, and not by its president.
The representatives noted that more than 35 members of the European Parliament have so far signed the letter.
They concluded by saying: “The beauty of sport is that it is based on fair and transparent rules. When Infantino allows political pressures to determine who has the right to play, this sense of justice completely disappears.”
