Red cards are not overturned by political phone calls. They are overturned by rules, evidence and independent bodies. If a U.S. President intervenes with the FIFA President — and a player is suddenly cleared before a World Cup knockout match — the question is unavoidable: Quo vadis, FIFA?
Football must never become a playground for political power. #FIFA #WorldCup #GianniInfantino #DonaldTrump
FIFA President Gianni Infantino:
“I have seen the public comments regarding the decision of the independent FIFA Disciplinary Committee related to the suspension of Folarin Balogun, and I would like to reiterate a fundamental principle of FIFA’s governance.
“FIFA’s judicial bodies are independent. They operate autonomously, apply the FIFA Disciplinary Code, and decide cases based on the applicable regulations and the specific facts before them. Their independence is essential to the credibility and integrity of football, and this must always be respected.
“Yes, I regularly discuss matters related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States, and on this matter, I did receive a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football stakeholders and business executives from around the world on many different issues. During our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies. That is how FIFA’s system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold.
“I read the decisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee when they are issued. Sometimes I am surprised by them. Sometimes I agree with them, and sometimes I disagree.
“What I always do, however, is respect those decisions and the autonomy of the bodies that make them. Whether we personally like a decision or not is irrelevant. Respect for independent institutions and the rule of law is what protects the integrity of our competitions and the credibility of FIFA at all times.”
Trump: The people in Belgium --if they win the game, they can be very proud. If they would have won the game with the player missing, it would have been a different feeling. You can’t do that, and I’m very glad.
All I did was ask for a review. I didn’t say, “You have to do this.”
This man is a smart, tough man, Gianni Infantino. He’s a smart, tough man, and his stock has gone through the roof.
🚨⚠️ OFFICIAL: Chelsea statement on Enzo Maresca.
“Chelsea FC appreciates the 2025/26 season was a hugely disappointing one for the Club and its supporters. A major contributing factor was the disruption caused as a result of changes that the Club was forced to make to the Head Coach position over the Christmas period”.
“Due to recent developments, we consider that it is important to explain to our supporters what happened and why our former Head Coach left the Club on 1 January 2026”.
“In Autumn last year, the Club was informed by our former Head Coach that there might be an opportunity for him to succeed Pep Guardiola at the end of the season”.
“It became clear to us that it was his strong desire to succeed Guardiola and that he was fully committed to pursuing the opportunity, despite the fact he was under a long-term contract which he had no right to terminate”.
“In December 2025, our Head Coach unexpectedly and abruptly resigned from his position. Obviously, we felt let down as we believed that his head and heart were focused on another club and another opportunity, despite having just arrived at Chelsea the year before”.
“No club wants to change its head coach midway through a season. However, in light of his decision not to continue fulfilling his responsibilities through to the end of the season, the Club was left with no choice but to protect our players, our supporters, and the Badge and accept his resignation”.
“In the circumstances and given the mutual respect between clubs, a confidential settlement has been reached with Manchester City, which includes the payment of compensation. A confidential settlement has also been reached with the former Head Coach under which he will pay compensation”.
🚨💣 EXCLUSIVE DETAIL | Granit Xhaka and Chelsea have already reached a full verbal agreement over a transfer. Personal terms have been fully agreed. #CFC
Chelsea are already in contact with Sunderland.
Xabi Alonso is pushing hard to sign Xhaka post Blick and various English media outlets. @SkySportDE 🇨🇭
🚨🔴⚫️ BREAKING: Gonçalo Ramos to AC Milan, here we go! Deal agreed between the clubs and on player side.
Club record signing for AC Milan, breaking Leão record as it was €50m — fee will be way in excess of this with add-ons.
Deal also done on player side. 🇵🇹
Ramin Rezaeian reacts to Iran’s dramatic 1-1 draw with Egypt, sending an emotional message to the Iranian people (translated from Persian):
“I don’t know what to say. I don’t know why we have such bad luck—once, twice, three, four, five times.
I don’t know what our people have done to deserve this.
I hope we can still qualify so they can feel better, they deserve more than this.
We fought as hard as we could. It didn’t matter if we had died tonight. We just wanted to make our people happy.
We have been fighting for months. We never asked for anything in return.
Every one of these players is honorable. We played for the love of our people.
People of Iran, we love you so much. I am sorry, that is all I can say.”
El capitán de la Selección de Irán, Mehdi Taremi, explotó contra la FIFA y la organización de Estados Unidos.
“Esta es una Copa del Mundo desastrosa. Como jugadores profesionales no podemos jugar una competición en estas condiciones, no está bien ni es justo. Si la FIFA piensa que esto es justo, tema de ellos, pero no lo es. ¿Quién debería solucionar este problema por nosotros? ¿La FIFA? ¿EE.UU.? ¡No sé! Díganme un nombre. El presidente de la FIFA, Gianni Infantino, vino a nuestro vestuario después del primer partido contra Nueva Zelanda y dijo que iba a resolver todos los problemas, pero en realidad, la FIFA no hizo nada. Respondiendo la pregunta de: "¿Sienten que los organizadores de la Copa del Mundo, incluidos la FIFA y los funcionarios estadounidenses, prefieren que Irán sea eliminado de la competencia?", digo: Tenemos que luchar contra absolutamente todo. No podemos quedarnos en el país, viajamos y nos sometemos a controles migratorios cada vez que queremos jugar, ahora no podemos quedarnos en Seattle y tenemos que volver a Tijuana. Han hecho todo lo posible para eliminarnos, entonces desde nuestra perspectiva, sí, creo que lo quieren así, nos quieren afuera”.
Denis Undav is low-key writing some cool stories for himself. He's loved my the fans, nit so much by the manager. He's clutched his way into the squad and always finds a way to score goals off the bench. Today, he's won the game from the bench lol