The Liberal Democrats have called for the English Football Association (FA) and UEFA to quit FIFA and start up a brand new governing body for global football.
This comes after making accusations against FIFA president Gianni Infantino in which they claim he has crossed “red line after red line.”
On Saturday, Lib Dem party leader Sir Ed Davey took to social media in which he was heavily critical of FIFA and stated that they were “destroying the integrity of the beautiful game.”
These accusations were mainly made in light of the decision to overturn a match ban for United States star striker Folarin Balogun after intervention from US President Donald Trump.
After being shown a straight red card for a challenge on Bosnia and Herzegovina player Tarik Muharemovic, FIFA U-turned and suspended the one-match ban for one year, allowing the Stars and Stripes forward to feature in the USMNT’s 4-1 defeat to Belgium in the Round of 16.
Elsewhere at the tournament, several Argentina players held up a banner referencing the Falkland Islands after their 2-1 comeback victory over England in the semi-final.
There is an ongoing investigation into the incident by FIFA, after calls from the UK government but it now appears unlikely a decision will come before the final.
With everything that has unfolded throughout the tournament, such as the clear Americanization of football with mandatory hydration breaks and unfounded claims that Infantino has a pro-Argentina bias, this has ultimately left too much of a sour taste in the mouth of the Lib Dem party.
Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson says FIFA is ‘beyond the pale’
“Look, what we’re calling for is for a conversation to be started because I think many, many fans, not just here in England, but around the world and many commentators agree that FIFA is beyond the pale,” Munira Wilson MP, Liberal Democrat Education, Children & Families Spokesperson told talkSPORT.
“We know that corruption’s rife. We’ve seen that really come to the fore in this World Cup, as you’ve already said, with the overturning of the red card, the massive price gouging that’s priced real fans out of the game and those ridiculous hydration breaks for commercial purposes.
“So we’re really just calling on The FA to work with UEFA, who’ve also been pretty critical of some of what’s been going on, to think about working with confederations around the world to withdraw from FIFA and try and found a body that actually puts fans and football and the football federations back at the heart of the game.
“Because FIFA, as I say, is just beyond the pale and it’s all about who’s got the deepest pockets and the most powerful political leaders being able to decide, frankly, and influence what happens on the pitch. That can’t be right.
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“Who is the game being run for? And look, we’re not talking about political interference here. We’re saying about using the England and the UK’s soft power and UEFA soft power to try and bring about a change.
“Of course, politics is separate from football. But I’m just stating the obvious,” Wilson continued.
“We have millions of fans and commentators like you were talking about how there are so many problems with how FIFA is run. Why shouldn’t we be having a discussion about how we can change it, even if we couldn’t set up a totally new body?
“By actually having this discussion, we can maybe think about working with bodies around the world to bring about change and maybe stop Infantino being re-elected.”
Infantino has made his intention to run for a third presidential term clear, although calls are appearing to grow from UEFA federations to back a candidate to run against him after the European governing body accused FIFA of ‘crossing a red line’.
With Infantino’s position seemingly untenable, despite what has largely been a resoundingly successful tournament, with World Cup fever spreading and stadiums at full capacity.
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