Perhaps the only globally recognized personality whose absence at this World Cup has been more noticeable than Donald Trump is the head of European football’s governing body, Aleksander Ceferin, though both individuals have more than compensated for their quiet spell over the past day.
By backing a declaration in which the European governing body charged the world football authority with crossing “a red line” through the “incomprehensible and unjustifiable” choice to rescind USA forward Folarin Balogun’s ban for Monday’s knockout match against Belgium, Ceferin has essentially placed European football on a confrontational path with the global federation, a significant step that could carry major consequences for the sport’s future.
Like Trump, and indeed, Gianni Infantino, Ceferin is a directly involved president and a keen follower of football coverage, so he would have been fully aware of his organization’s actions. The latter two have been in conflict since Infantino put forward the idea of a larger Club World Cup in 2018, a project that finally materialized in the United States last year, with much of the ongoing friction between the global and European bodies rooted in the former’s ambition to expand the Club World Cup from 32 to 48 teams for the next edition in 2029.
With the European organization generating close to €5 billion (£4.27 billion) annually from its flagship club competition, a figure expected to increase by roughly 20% from next year based on media rights and commercial deals completed so far, the world governing body is seeking a share of the club football market, considering the overwhelming majority of its four-year revenue cycle of $14 billion (£10.5 billion) stems from the World Cup.
The most recent public display of hostility between the two bodies occurred in Paraguay in May 2025, when European representatives, including Ceferin and Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt, staged a walkout from the global federation’s Congress to protest the delayed arrival of Infantino, who had been at a summit in the Middle East with world figures like Trump and Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. Since that symbolic act of dissent, a sort of ceasefire had prevailed, which those familiar with the situation attribute to the fact that both Infantino and Ceferin face re-election next year and have agreed to keep internal disputes minimal.
While the European body has tried to gain some political advantage from the global organization’s unpopular management of this World Cup—announcing affordable ticket rates for Euro 2028, clarifying they will avoid introducing cooling breaks, and assigning Somali official Omar Artan to referee the European Super Cup after he was barred from officiating at the World Cup by the US Department of Homeland Security—the uneasy truce has largely held. However, the fragile calm was broken by the world body’s extraordinary mid-tournament move to cancel Balogun’s suspension, which the European organization said damaged “the integrity of the game” and “the credibility of the competition.”
The USA’s Folarin Balogun is shown a red card by the referee Raphael Claus. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters
While much of this clash is personal and political, there is also genuine astonishment at the European organization’s base in Nyon over how the global administration seems to operate. Despite all the various criticisms of the European body, it functions as a deeply procedural, bureaucratic entity, whereas by using article 27 of its disciplinary code as a loophole to clear Balogun and Cristiano Ronaldo last year, the world governing body gives the impression of creating rules spontaneously.
After releasing their critical statement on Monday morning, officials from the European body were engaged in urgent discussions for most of the day, with another sign of the resentment toward the global federation evident in how few have made the trip to the World Cup. Despite sharing a penchant for global travel and their mutual self-interest, Ceferin and Infantino are not often spotted together. Following last year’s incident in Paraguay, Ceferin skipped this year’s global federation Congress in Vancouver, while Infantino made a brief showing at the annual general meeting of the lobbying group European Football Clubs (EFC) in Rome last year when Ceferin was not present.
After voicing their anger, the European body’s subsequent moves regarding the Balogun case remain uncertain and will partly hinge on the result of Belgium’s challenge to the global federation’s ruling. Insiders from the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) have indicated they do not anticipate another reversal, and are consequently examining alternative legal avenues, including bringing the global body before the court of arbitration for sport (Cas) in Lausanne after the tournament concludes.
The European organization could back a Belgian legal pursuit, which, given its proficiency in Swiss law, would likely be advantageous, while also potentially creating complications for the world body in other areas.
Although most of Europe’s leading clubs, and therefore much of the EFC, favor expanding the Club World Cup for self-serving financial gains, Ceferin remains personally against it due to worries that a 48-team event would further solidify the dominance of the top tier, in addition to threatening the leading status of the European club championship. With the global body set to start talks with the six continental confederations, domestic leagues, and player unions next year regarding the structure of the international calendar after 2030, there are several key areas where the European body could create difficulties for them.
Establishing the date for the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia is becoming a major issue, and a protest spearheaded by the European body, involving its national associations, domestic leagues, and player unions, would at least provide some negotiating power in dealings with the global federation. Yet, with Trump and Prince Mohammed apparently aligned with the world body, it might not be an even contest.
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