A small group of football fans gathered outside FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich on Monday, 20 July 2026, to protest against what they described as arbitrary decision-making by world football’s governing body, specifically citing the controversy surrounding US striker Folarin Balogun’s red card suspension.
The protest was organised by German football fan Bengt Kunkel, who is travelling with the German national team and is known among supporters as a “Vorsänger” (lead singer) who rallies fans at matches. The demonstration outside FIFA’s Zurich headquarters remained peaceful and was approved by Zurich City Police.
Kunkel said he decided to hold the demonstration because of the scandal around Balogun, whose one-match suspension was lifted by FIFA after reports that US President Donald Trump had personally called FIFA President Gianni Infantino to intervene.
“The arbitrary actions of the FIFA president must not simply be accepted,” Kunkel said at the demonstration.
Reports emerged that President Trump had personally lobbied Infantino to intervene in the case, a move Trump later acknowledged publicly, welcoming the decision to “reverse a great injustice.”
Infantino confirmed that the call took place but denied that it had any influence on the final decision to review the case.
On 13 July 2026, Swiss fans staged a protest march through Zurich against FIFA, Infantino and what they described as the growing commercialisation of football, with chants including “Against modern FIFA”, “Stop FIFA corruption” and “Infantino out!”
The Balogun Controversy: Decision Sparked Widespread Criticism
Folarin Balogun, a USMNT forward, received a red card in the round-of-32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, which normally carries an automatic one-match suspension.
However, FIFA’s disciplinary committee suspended the ban for one year, allowing Balogun to play in the round-of-16 match against Belgium.
The decision sparked widespread criticism. Belgium’s Football Association (RBFA) said it was “astonished” by the decision and lodged an appeal, calling the move unprecedented and unjustifiable. Swiss Football Association (SFA) also criticised the decision, stating: “The decision in the Balogun case is incomprehensible to the Swiss Football Association, regardless of how it came about. Until now, the principle has been clear: any player sent off is automatically suspended for the next match. This rule applied equally to everyone and provided clarity and consistency.”
Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter weighed in on social media, posting: “Red cards are not overturned by political phone calls. They are overturned by rules, evidence and independent bodies.” UEFA issued a statement calling FIFA’s decision “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable.”
Kunkel and other protesters argued that the credibility of the World Cup competition depends on clear rules that are applied consistently, and that the Balogun decision had created uncertainty about the authority of referees’ decisions, especially when the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) is involved.
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