Belgium Withdraws Support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino
3 sources across 3 countries · Argentina · Norway · Qatar · 1 of them is linked to a state
Who reported this
- Infobae
- Aftenposten
- Al Jazeera
What the colours mean
- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
- A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.
Political lean describes where an outlet sits within the politics of its own country. It is never a position on a single global scale.
Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.
The owner of each outlet is listed as a matter of record, not as a judgement about the outlet.
The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) announced on Monday that it will not support FIFA President Gianni Infantino in his bid for re-election. The decision follows Infantino's confirmation on Sunday that he intends to run for a fourth term in the March 2027 vote. Belgium joins several other European federations, UEFA, CONCACAF, and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in seeking an alternative candidate.
The RBFA cited a lack of transparency regarding two primary issues. First, the federation pointed to the case of United States forward Folarin Balogun during the 2026 World Cup. Balogun received a red card that was subsequently reversed before a round of 16 match against Belgium. This decision occurred after U.S. President Donald Trump thanked FIFA for reversing what he called a great injustice. While the U.S. football body welcomed the ruling, the RBFA has challenged it and requested that the matter be placed on the agenda for the October 15 FIFA Council meeting. RBFA President Pascale Van Damme stated that questions regarding the incident remain unanswered two months later.
Second, the RBFA criticized the FIFA Forward Enterprise project, which aimed to sell stakes in the commercial operations of FIFA tournaments to private investors. While one source notes that the project was eventually abandoned due to backlash, the RBFA maintains that the process lacked sufficient justification and raised governance concerns.
Reporting on the event varied by political lean. Center-right sources focused on the specific lack of transparency and the broader movement of European nations turning away from Infantino. The center-left source emphasized the controversy surrounding the influence of political power and the specific sequence of the red card appeal process.
How each side framed it
- Centre-left
- This outlet highlighted the controversy of political influence and the specific procedural failures of the FIFA Appeal Committee.
- Centre-right
- These outlets framed the story as a matter of governance and a growing trend of European nations rejecting the current leadership.
Sources
- Centre-right Aftenposten: Another country turns its back on the Fifa president
- Centre-left Al Jazeera: Balogun red card U-turn prompts Belgium to withdraw support for Infantino
- Centre-right Infobae: The Royal Belgian Football Association will not support Gianni Infantino in the elections and refers to the Balogun case
90% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.