USA striker Folarin Balogun was shown a red card in the 64th minute of the Round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Following the match, FIFA announced that it had invoked Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC) to suspend the automatic match suspension arising from the red card for a probationary period of one year.
But was that decision actually consistent with FIFA’s own rules?
The key point is this: the red card was a decision made by the referee on the field of play. FIFA itself acknowledged this on its website, even identifying the exact minute the dismissal occurred.
Yet the latest edition of the FIFA Disciplinary Code appears to significantly limit the power of FIFA’s judicial bodies to revisit such decisions.
Article 6 provides in part:
1. Decisions taken by the referee on the field of play are final and may not be reviewed by the FIFA judicial bodies.
2. Where a referee’s decision involves an obvious error—such as mistaken identity—the FIFA judicial bodies may review only the disciplinary consequences of that decision. In such cases, disciplinary proceedings may be opened against the person who was actually at fault.
On a plain reading, the judicial bodies have no authority to review a referee’s disciplinary decision except in narrowly defined circumstances, such as mistaken identity.
If that is correct, an important question arises:
How could FIFA lawfully suspend the automatic suspension flowing from a referee’s red card when none of the recognised exceptions appears to apply?
Is this a legitimate exercise of Article 27, or did FIFA exceed the limits imposed by its own Disciplinary Code?
Yaw Nkansah Abankroh Esq.
