Fifa suspended two US staff members for world-cup-teams-before-the-quarter/” title=”Re-ranking the World Cup teams before the quarter”>World Cup match against Belgium
-
Team manager and security member missed match
-
Incident may have been related to Balogun controversy
Two US Soccer staff members were suspended by Fifa for their team’s World Cup defeat to Belgium on Monday
Team manager Sam Zapatka and US Soccer vice-president of security Frank Pannell weren’t allowed at the match. Fifa has not given a specific reason for the suspensions
Uefa accuses Fifa of ‘crossing a red line’ over lifting of Folarin Balogun’s red card ban
Read more
US Soccer didn’t address the cause behind the punishment, although it did say it was unrelated to the federation’s work in getting Folarin Balogun’s red card suspended
According to ESPN, the pair were sanctioned because of a violation of Fifa match protocols as well as people having access to areas where they shouldn’t have been. The suspensions were not due to any physical disputes or confrontations
Front Office Sports reported that the cause of the two suspensions may have been Balogun coming back on to the field to celebrate the United States’ 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last 32. Balogun was sent off in the second half of that game. Players who receive a red card are not allowed to return to the pitch after their dismissal
Zapatka joined US Soccer in 2015 and has been in his current job since 2020. In an April article, Seton Hall University newspaper The Setonian wrote that Pannell previously worked for the Secret Service, the CIA and in the private sector
Explore more on these topicsShare
Reuse this content
