There has been growing pressure on FIFA president Gianni Infantino after he allowed the United States to play Folarin Balogun vs Belgium. One England legend has now claimed his position is 'untenable'.
Striker Balogun was initially suspended for the game due to his red card in the previous World Cup match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. US president Donald Trump appeared to lean on Infantino, as FIFA buckled to the demands and allowed the forward to play, choosing to suspend the one-match ban for 12 months. Although Belgium would win the game 4-1, the fallout has continued.
Notably, many in England have been left scratching their heads as FIFA have decided to give Jarell Quansah a two-game suspension after his red card against Mexico. The FA are said to have privately challenged the ban, hoping to get the same treatment as Balogun, but had no luck.
As such, the defender will miss the Three Lions' quarter-final meeting with Norway as well as a potential semi-final against Argentina or Switzerland. The decision has left England legend Gary Lineker very unhappy.
Gary Lineker Calls Out FIFA Boss Infantino
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Lineker scored 10 goals for England across two World Cups, winning the Golden Boot with six in Mexico '86 before adding four at Italia '90. He was the highest-scoring Englishman in the competition's history until Harry Kane blitzed the record this summer, taking his tally up to 14.
On the latest episode of Netflix's The Rest Is Football, via TalkSport, Lineker and his fellow pundits made it clear how unhappy they were with Infantino following the Quansah call. Alan Shearer first stated:
"FIFA have brought all this on themselves. How on earth does Quansah now get two games, Balogun got one suspended and got it taken away, yet Quansah now has to miss if England get through the two games. "It’s absolutely scandalous. Such a bad look."
Agreeing wholeheartedly that the who saga is 'scandalous', Lineker then suggested that Infantino's position with FIFA can no longer be justified. He firmly said:
"I think his position at FIFA now is almost untenable."
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Joe Cole and Micah Richards also Slam Infantino
Gianni InfantinoREUTERS/Mandel Ngan
Both Joe Cole and Micah Richards also made their annoyance with Infantino clear. Adding to the dissent, the former Chelsea and Liverpool winger remarked: "He’s got one job. He’s like Basil Fawlty, falling over himself all the time and messing it up."
Popular pundit Richards then joined in, noting: "It’s an absolute farce, isn’t it? How many times? All the good things that have happened in this competition. All the success stories, we keep talking about them, but this is just ridiculous."
Quansah can consider himself rather unlucky to be missing two games. Not only will he look at Balougin as an example of a player getting let off easily, but only one other World Cup star has suffered a multi-game suspension this summer.
Indeed, South Africa midfielder Themba Zwane was banned for three matches after he was sent off against Mexico in the opening match of the World Cup. As per TalkSport, the remaining 12 players who have been sent off at the World Cup have either served a one-game ban during the tournament or will complete their suspensions when their nation next plays, having been knocked out.