The United States’ World Cup campaign has been mired in controversy after FIFA appeared to allow star striker Folarin Balogun to play against Belgium in Monday’s round of 16, in violation of its own regulations, despite receiving a red card in Wednesday’s Round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
World soccer’s governing body said it had suspended automatic one-match bans after President Donald Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to urge him to reconsider the matter. Infantino reportedly unilaterally created and awarded the first FIFA Peace Prize to Trump during the World Cup draw, bypassing his own 37-member council.
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Balogun, who plays for Monaco in France, is his country’s top scorer at this World Cup with three goals.
The decision sparked criticism from the Belgian Football Association and Europe’s top soccer body UEFA, who argued that suspending suspensions after direct political interference undermined the integrity of the competition and set a dangerous precedent.
But this isn’t the first time FIFA has been at the center of a World Cup storm.
From political interference to corruption scandals, football’s governing body has a long record of controversy at its own marquee events.
Here’s a look back at some of the most notable.
1930: The early whistle
FIFA’s first World Cup was still in its infancy, and it was all the rage.
In a group match in Montevideo, Uruguay, Argentina took a 1-0 lead over France thanks to Luis Monti’s free-kick in the 81st minute, but Brazilian referee Gilberto de Almeida Rego scored a full-time goal six minutes earlier in the 84th minute, just as French winger Marcel Langiler got past the goalkeeper only.
French players protested violently and mounted police entered the pitch to restore order.
After consulting with the linesmen, Rego admitted his mistake and the players were recalled to play the remaining time.
France, in disarray, failed to score and Argentina won 1-0.
At the time, the World Cup was only two days old.
1962: Garrincha, red card and two presidents
Long before Folarin Balogun, there was Garrincha.
Brazil’s wayward winger, who led the team during Pele’s injury absence, scored twice in a 4-2 win over hosts Chile in the 1962 semi-finals, but was sent off in the second half for being hacked during the match and kicking an opponent in retaliation.
Thereafter, the automatic ban did not apply to the red card. FIFA’s disciplinary committee makes decisions on a case-by-case basis, and another player who was dismissed in the same match was also suspended.
However, after Chilean President Jorge Alesandri supported Garrincha’s plea to play and Peruvian President Manuel Prado reportedly instructed the referee to soften his testimony by telephone, the commission sent Garrincha off with a warning.
Garrincha played in the final, and Brazil defeated Czechoslovakia 3–1, retaining the trophy.
Until this week, it was the only time a player who received a red card appeared in his team’s next World Cup game.
1973: FIFA, Pinochet, and a match without an opponent
Weeks after General Augusto Pinochet’s coup d’état overthrew Chile’s socialist regime of Salvador Allende in September 1973, Chile was scheduled to host the Soviet Union in a World Cup qualifying playoff at Santiago’s Estadio Nacional. The stadium was used as a detention center by the military regime, where thousands of political prisoners were detained, tortured, and killed.
The Soviet Union told FIFA they could not play in the bloody stadium and requested another venue.
Instead, FIFA sent an inspector and declared the ground suitable for soccer. According to reports, prisoners hid inside the facility during the visit.
The Soviet Union refused travel.
On November 21, 1973, Chile kicked off in front of no one and smashed the ball into an empty net for an iconic 1-0, but the referee abandoned the match and FIFA recorded it as a 2-0 victory for Chile.
Chile qualified for the 1974 World Cup, but were eliminated in the group stage.
1978: Backstage visit and accusations of collusion
Argentina hosted the 1978 World Cup during the military regime of General Jorge Videla, during which thousands of people were tortured and murdered, some within earshot of the Estadio Monumental, Latin America’s largest stadium.
They wanted a home win to give their team more legitimacy, but FIFA’s format mandated it.
The final group match was then played at a different time, with Argentina starting their match against Peru knowing that Brazil would need to win by a four-goal difference to advance to the final with an earlier win. FIFA had rejected Brazil’s request for simultaneous kick-offs.
Before the game, Videla visited Peru’s locker room.
Argentina won 6-0, and doubts have persisted ever since: claims by a former Peruvian senator that the deal was settled by reporting grain shipments to Peru, unfreezing Peruvian assets and jailing 13 Peruvian dissidents.
Nothing has been proven and both players deny collusion.
Argentina defeated the Netherlands in the final and won the World Cup for the first time.
1982: Disgrace of Gijon
Sometimes FIFA’s failures don’t do anything at all.
On June 25, 1982, West Germany and Austria faced off in Gijon, Spain. Algeria had played a match the day before, so it was known that just one result would be enough for both European teams to get through and for Algeria to be eliminated. West Germany won by less than three goals.
West Germany scored a goal after 10 minutes from Horst Hrubesch, and little happened for the next 80 minutes, the ball being passed harmlessly and both teams defending the result.
The fans in the stadium saw through it.
They shouted “Fuela, Fuera” (Come out, come out), Algerian supporters waved banknotes at the players, German commentators stopped their words of protest, and Austrian commentators told viewers to turn off their phones. The local newspaper El Comercio then published a match report in its crime section.
Algeria has filed a formal complaint.
FIFA ruled that no rules had been broken and took no action, only tacitly acknowledging the flaws. Since 1986, FIFA has corrected a problem that also plagued previous tournaments by kicking off the final group matches at the same time.
2006: One card too many
During the Group F match between Croatia and Australia in Stuttgart, Germany, England’s Graham Paul booked Croatia’s Josip Simunic for a foul on Harry Kewell in the 61st minute, but mistakenly booked Australia’s Craig Moore.
Simnik, who was born and raised in Australia, speaks with a broad Australian accent, which polls later suggested may have contributed to the mix-up.
So when Simunic committed another bookable foul in the second half, Paul showed a second yellow without a red.
When a defender angrily confronted him after the final whistle, Paul was given a third yellow and finally a red card.
The match ended 2-2, with Australia winning.
FIFA admitted the mistake, Paul was sent home before the finals, and one of England’s most experienced referees retired from international football.
