The United States' World Cup campaign has been engulfed in controversy after FIFA allegedly violated its own regulations to allow star striker Folarin Balogun to play in the round of 16 clash against Belgium. Balogun had received a red card in the previous match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

World football's governing body announced it had suspended the automatic one-match ban after US President Donald Trump phoned FIFA chief Gianni Infantino to urge a review. Infantino reportedly bypassed his 37-member council to unilaterally create and award Trump the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize during the World Cup draw.

Balogun, who plays for Monaco, is the US's top scorer with three goals. The decision drew sharp criticism from the Belgian football association and UEFA, who argued that direct political intervention undermined the tournament's integrity and set a dangerous precedent.

This is far from the first time FIFA has faced controversy at a World Cup. The organization has a long history of contentious decisions, from the 1930 match that ended six minutes early to the 2006 refereeing error by Graham Poll.

In 1962, Brazil's Garrincha played in the final despite a red card after political pressure from the Chilean president. In 1973, Chile qualified after the USSR refused to play at a stadium used as a detention center by the Pinochet regime.

The 1978 tournament saw allegations of match-fixing when Argentina beat Peru 6-0 to reach the final. In 1982, West Germany and Austria played a non-aggression pact that eliminated Algeria, prompting FIFA to later change the schedule.

In 2006, English referee Graham Poll mistakenly showed three yellow cards to Croatia's Josip Simunic before finally issuing a red. FIFA admitted the error and sent Poll home.

Source: www.aljazeera.com