00:04Hello, you're watching Euronews' fact-checking show The Cube.
00:07This post claims that the European Parliament has called for an investigation into FIFA president Gianni Infantino
00:14over his management of the World Cup.
00:16It's been viewed more than 6 million times, but in fact it's misleading.
00:20The claim relates to one of the biggest controversies of this summer's World Cup so far.
00:25United States striker Fuleren Balogun was shown a red card during a match,
00:29which under FIFA's disciplinary rules would normally result in a one-match suspension.
00:35However, FIFA later overturned its suspension,
00:38allowing Balogun to play in the tournament's round of 16 match against Belgium.
00:43US President Donald Trump later acknowledged asking FIFA to review the decision.
00:48But all I did, all I did, I asked for a review because I didn't think it was a foul.
00:52This prompted accusations that political pressure may have influenced FIFA's disciplinary process.
00:57Those concerns led 72 members of the European Parliament to sign a letter calling on the football associations of EU
01:05member states
01:05to ask FIFA's Independent Ethics Committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the decision.
01:11The MEPs say the Ethics Committee should examine whether Infantino complied with FIFA's own rules
01:17on political neutrality and conflicts of interest.
01:20But that's not the same as the European Parliament officially calling for an investigation.
01:25The Parliament has 720 elected members.
01:28While 72 have signed the letter, Parliament itself has not voted on the issue
01:33or adopted an official position, as is explained in this ex-post.
01:38Infantino has denied any wrongdoing, saying FIFA's judicial bodies are independent
01:42and that he played no role in the disciplinary decision.
01:45So while some IEPs are calling for an ethics investigation,
01:49it is misleading to claim that the European Parliament itself has done so.
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