Equal competition: The principle of fairness at the World Cup

Once the match starts, football isn't always sporting.

Respect and honesty are core principles of the game, but many of the laws aren't black and white. It's the differing interpretations of those laws – the flexibility that bends with human insight and flaws – that help make the game so compelling for fans.

In tennis a serve is in or out; in football, one referee's penalty is another's dive. The environment, the viewpoint, the intent of the involved players – no scenario is identical. Cue arguments, debate, replays – football's enduring and global popularity is driven by clashes of opinion as much as sporting excellence.

Coaches, players and fans can be infuriated by a decision or a rival player's conduct, but they accept the in-match controversies. This is football. Once the final whistle is blown, they shake hands and try to move on. A controversial moment is just that, a second in a match, perhaps not forgotten but rarely relitigated.

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What football fans cannot accept, however, is any sense of a thumb on the scales, a deliberate choice to benefit or hamper a team, particularly when it comes to the World Cup.

The principle of equal competition is paramount. Every team must have the same opportunities, receive the same treatment. No team has more rights than another. No team or player or official or fan should be discriminated against.

The buildup to many big sporting events is dominated by questions over process or logistics – budgets, ticketing, infrastructure – but once the action starts, the complaints end and the sport takes over.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup has been a little different, because while much of the tournament has been a triumph, off-field controversies have continued throughout.

The controversy over Folarin Balogun – a US birthright citizen, born in New York and able to play for the US because his heavily pregnant mother wasn't allowed to fly home to London – captures the football fan's on-field and off-field perspective of fairness perfectly.

Balogun was sent off for the United States in their win against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the round of 32. It was a harsh call to dismiss the striker, the United States' top scorer in the competition – some people agreed with it, others did not – and the red card meant he'd miss the next game against Belgium.

But that's football. And in the World Cup, there's no appeals mechanism to right an obvious wrong, as there is in major leagues. If anyone gets a red card, they miss at least the next match. Those are the rules everyone plays by, and that's part of the reason each team has a squad.

In this case, football fans moved on, but the US did not. FIFA announced that it had suspended the red card, not long after US President Donald Trump revealed he had urged the global football body's chief, Gianni Infantino, to review the case.

For fans and associations around the world, this exception to the apparent rules was beyond the pale. Belgium's association said it was "astonished," coach Rudy Garcia questioned whether it was April Fool's Day, and UEFA said the decision "crossed a red line." "It's a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad decision that will hurt the World Cup," Norway coach Stale Solbakken added.

The furor probably hurt the US team, too – despite selecting Balogun, they were easily beaten by Belgium, showing little of the cohesion that had helped them to the round of 16.

The right of fans and officials from all across the world to attend was put into question too, and visa issues continued through the opening stages. Somalian FIFA referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan was barred from entering the US over unspecified "vetting concerns," forcing him to miss the World Cup, and fans of Morocco, Egypt, Iraq and Uzbekistan reportedly faced widespread visa denials, while the US suspended visa issuance for fans from Iran and Haiti.

Iran, meanwhile, left the tournament unbeaten after three draws in the group stages, despite being forced to relocate their training base to Mexico and only being allowed to enter the US – where all three of their games were played – the day before a match.

The restrictions were partially eased for the final match after complaints, but Iran argued the tiring commutes and the refusal to grant visas to support staff put the team at a clear disadvantage.

"We are the only team that are participating in the World Cup that we are at the host cities just 24 hours and it is not fair," Iran soccer secretary-general Hedayat Mombeini said. "All these limitations on us, it has negative effects on our physical and mental things on our players."

"This is our game, not theirs," incoming Germany coach Jurgen Klopp said of the decision to suspend the Balogun red card. For all the positive aspects of the 2026 World Cup, these exceptions to accepted rules and fair play – these conscious decisions to override or ignore the principles of equal competition – won't be forgotten.

(Cover: Folarin Balogun receives a red card during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between the US and Bosnia and Herzegovina at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in Santa Clara, July 1, 2026. /VCG)