Norway’s football federation is preparing to file a formal complaint to FIFA over the controversial lifting of Folarin Balogun’s World Cup suspension, with its president warning the incident has put “the whole game at risk”.

Lise Klaveness, who heads the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF), will seek approval from her board at a meeting on 6 August to lodge the complaint with FIFA’s ethics committee.

The move comes after FIFA stepped in to overturn an automatic one-match ban handed to Balogun following his red card in the United States’ last-32 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina. The decision sparked outrage when it emerged that US President Donald Trump had personally phoned FIFA president Gianni Infantino to intervene.

“When you bend a rule like this, you’re on a slippery slope that will put the whole game at risk,” Klaveness told The Times.

Dangerous precedent for football

The Norwegian federation plans to include the Balogun controversy in an existing complaint against Infantino over his decision to award FIFA’s inaugural Peace Prize to Trump, a move that was widely ridiculed.

“To me, it should be in the same sphere of ethical complaint,” said Klaveness, a former Norway international who has led the NFF since 2022.

“First of all, it should not have happened. It is very important now to have honest communication around it. We all know that this verdict was influenced from external forces and did not have the proper process.”

The controversy appeared to galvanise Belgium, who thrashed the co-hosts 4-1 in the match Balogun was originally meant to miss.

Decision made by single official

Klaveness also criticised the manner in which the decision was taken. According to The Times, FIFA disciplinary committee chairman Mohammad al-Kamali made the call to suspend Balogun’s ban without consulting other committee members.

“When you make controversial decisions, and when there has been an external, very powerful voice in your ear, it’s very important that you have more voices making the decision,” she said.

The lawyer warned that bending rules for heads of state sets a dangerous precedent that could see political interference become normalised in football.

“If you start to adapt in such a way towards state leaders and state politics, you will move your behaviour and the organisation’s behaviour, and also the red line of what state leaders should interfere with,” Klaveness said.

ALSO READ: US face Belgium in World Cup knockout clash after controversial Balogun reprieve

Issue cannot be swept aside

The Norwegian official insisted the matter must be properly addressed rather than forgotten.

“To try to sweep this under the carpet now will not fly,” she said. “Too many felt this – coaches, players, fans – that this was too close to the game. We need our leader in FIFA to say that this was an error.”

Klaveness, who says she will not challenge Infantino in next year’s presidential election, also criticised proposals from South American football authorities to expand the World Cup from 48 to 64 teams.

Norway returned to the World Cup finals for the first time in 28 years at this tournament, eventually losing to England in the quarter-finals.

“Smaller nations like ourselves, that haven’t been there for 20 years, showed the World Cup could be extended to 48 teams,” she said. “It’s not in football’s interest, or even reasonable, to now start to talk about 64 teams.”

ALSO READ: Trump confirms asking FIFA boss to review Balogun red card decision