FIFA president Gianni Infantino has defended the officiating at the 2026 World Cup in a written statement, telling critics to "show some love" and "respect" for the tournament amid a fierce row over the decision to suspend USA forward Folarin Balogun's red-card ban.

Infantino's remarks came in a FIFA President message published on FIFA's own website on 26 July (BBC Sport). In it, he declared himself "incredibly proud, as Fifa President, to have contributed, even a little, to this show" — and took a swipe at the European associations questioning the Balogun ruling.

The controversy centres on a decision that let Balogun play on despite a red card. FIFA suspended the one-match ban after US President Donald Trump intervened, according to BBC Sport. Out of 191 other red cards shown at a men's World Cup, only one other player has escaped suspension in the same way — a statistic that has fuelled accusations of political favouritism.

Infantino pushed back hard. He claimed similar rulings are "routine and widely accepted in some of the biggest leagues worldwide" and added: "It's curious that the same countries employing these practices are the ones criticising." His parting shot to opponents: "To those spending their time and energy hating us, please take a moment to reflect, meditate, pray, or watch a football match" (FIFA).

European football's governing body was not mollified. Uefa called the Balogun decision "unprecedented, incomprehensible, and unjustifiable" and said FIFA had "crossed a red line" (BBC Sport). The Norwegian Football Federation is considering a formal complaint to FIFA's ethics committee over the same ruling.

A separate attempt to involve the International Olympic Committee went nowhere. The IOC said a complaint by the human rights group FairSquare, which had flagged possible breaches of political neutrality, fell outside its ethics commission's jurisdiction and would not be investigated (BBC Sport).

For fans, the row touches something fundamental: whether the rules apply the same way to every team. A red card normally means a one-match suspension — automatic, no exceptions for who happens to be watching. When a sitting president's intervention coincides with a suspended ban, and the FIFA president responds by telling critics to go pray about it, the line between sporting governance and politics looks badly blurred.

Infantino seems comfortable with that. His critics, clearly, are not. And with Norway weighing a formal ethics complaint, the argument over Balogun's red card is far from settled.