La Liga president Javier Tebas has launched a fierce attack on what he calls the “complicit silence” protecting Fifa following the Folarin Balogun suspension saga.
Balogun, the United States striker, was controversially allowed to play in America’s 4-1 last-16 defeat to Belgium at the 2026 World Cup despite holding a one-game ban.
Fifa’s disciplinary committee opted to suspend that ban for 12 months, allowing Balogun to feature in the knockout fixture rather than sit it out.
The ban had originally been triggered after referee Raphael Claus showed Balogun a red card during the United States match against Bosnia-Herzegovina following a VAR review.
Claus, a Brazilian official, later became the subject of controversy after US president Donald Trump publicly called him “a bit suspect” in comments that drew widespread attention.
Trump subsequently revealed he had personally asked Fifa to review the ban, raising serious questions about political interference in the sport’s governing processes.
Uefa moved quickly to condemn Fifa’s handling of the situation, describing the disciplinary committee’s decision as “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable” in a statement issued on Monday.
Outside Europe, however, the response from football officials has been notably muted, with Conmebol only stepping in to defend Claus rather than challenge Fifa or Trump directly.
Tebas, 63, described the Balogun decision as the “tip of the iceberg” after what he characterised as years of events “eroding the credibility of Fifa and football in general.”
He accused Fifa of operating as a closed shop, where decisions are made before votes take place and without meaningful consultation with domestic leagues around the world.
“And the worst of all is that much of the football world is aware of it, but too many prefer to maintain a complicit silence,” Tebas wrote on X.
He continued: “Because staying quiet is more comfortable than defending independence, transparency, and good governance.”
Tebas concluded his statement with a pointed message about accountability, saying: “World football deserves institutions that are accountable, respect the rules, and govern with transparency – not through unilateral, discretionary, arbitrary decisions that erode the trust of fans, clubs, leagues, and players.”
The comments from one of European club football’s most prominent administrators add further pressure on Fifa at a tournament already marked by political controversy and governance questions.
