Politics

‘Profoundly corrupt’: The EU’s leading FIFA critic sharpens his attack

Published

3 months ago

July 6, 2026

FIFA’s leading critic in the European Parliament told Blue Light News that the decision to lift a key American player’s one-game suspension was the latest example of an “unbroken pattern” of nontransparent governance in world football’s governing body.

Last week, centrist Irish MEP Barry Andrews penned a letter urging FIFA to investigate its president, Gianni Infantino, over four public statements he made in support of U.S. President Donald Trump last year, which allegedly undermined the body’s political neutrality.

On Monday, after FIFA lifted the ban on American striker Folarin Balogun following a call from Trump to Infantino, Blue Light News sat down with Andrews to discuss how the governing body’s latest decision adds fuel to his criticism.

FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Andrews’ latest rebuke, but Infantino released a statement Monday denying allegations that he influenced the decision to lift Balogun’s suspension.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What was your first reaction when you heard the news that Trump had got involved in Balogun’s case?

It confirms, in my view, that FIFA is a profoundly corrupt organization. Unfortunately, there’s a decadeslong litany of examples of how FIFA has corrupted sport at the highest level. It’s just a further chapter in that litany, unfortunately, and we need to figure out ways to try to put pressure on FIFA to reverse this decision.

MEP Petras Auštrevičius told Blue Light News on Friday that FIFA is “not any longer a neutral sports organization.” Do you agree?

Is it not really a lawless organization? The decisions around awarding the World Cup to Qatar and Russia have been demonstrated to be the subject of massive bribery of officials in the executive committee of FIFA and also the confederations across the world. So, unfortunately, what we’re seeing with the recent example of Infantino just proves that this is an unbroken pattern over many decades. When Sepp Blatter was [FIFA president], he had no restraint on his politicization of the role, but Infantino, if it’s possible, is worse.

Blatter said this morning that “football must never become a playground for political power.”

If Blatter thinks it’s corrupt, we’re dealing with towering levels of malpractice.

What do you think the European response should be here?

There’s a lot of people who say “politics and sport don’t mix,” but we’re dealing with an organization that is so powerful. Therefore, we should make a very clear statement on it. There’s a limit on what we can do, but I think we have to be very explicit on denouncing what has happened in this situation since Sunday.

Are you going to be watching the U.S.-Belgium game tonight?

I’ll be watching it. I’m disappointed with everything about the way the U.S. has [conducted the World Cup]. It’s not the fault of the U.S. players, but you just can’t help yourself. You couldn’t imagine what would happen if the U.S. won the tournament.

Politics

Mike Collins For Senate Memorandum

Published

46 minutes ago

September 23, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The memo comes at a key time for Rep. Mike Collins.

Politics

Crypto weighs revenge against Democrats — and the risks that come with it

Published

6 hours ago

September 23, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The cryptocurrency industry is at a political crossroads.

Reeling from the demise of its longtime top legislative priority, crypto companies must now decide how scorched-earth to go against Senate Democrats, who last week voted unanimously against the so-called Clarity Act, a sweeping bill that would create a bespoke new regulatory framework for digital assets.

A crypto-backed PAC network’s move this week provides a hint of what may be to come. The group, known as Fairshake, announced it would spend at least $30 million to help block Democrat Sherrod Brown from recapturing a pivotal Ohio Senate seat, representing the first major signal of how the industry plans to deploy its massive campaign war chest in the final weeks before the 2026 midterms.

Some crypto executives have publicly signaled an appetite in recent days for punishing Democrats. But a partisan strategy carries major political risk for the industry: A broad offensive against Democrats ahead of an election where they have a chance to reclaim power on Capitol Hill could further alienate lawmakers the industry may soon need to revive its agenda.

“As much as some people may want to, they can’t wave a wand and make Democrats go away,” said Sheila Warren, the former CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, an industry trade group. “Every industry — not just crypto — has to figure out what to do with that reality.”

The crypto industry’s spending could have immediate consequences after the election. Democrats are signaling that a Senate GOP-aligned spending spree would suppress any appetite for lame duck dealmaking involving the Clarity bill — although it remains a long shot that it would come back to life regardless. A Senate Democratic aide involved in the crypto effort said a full-scale assault on the party’s Senate candidates “would absolutely eviscerate any hope” of a post-election deal.

The Fairshake PAC group, funded primarily by crypto firms Coinbase and Ripple and venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz, had more than $120 million at its disposal as of the end of August. It has previously deployed its war chest to help members of both parties who support industry-friendly policies.

Fairshake is preparing to announce additional spending decisions supporting both Democrats and Republicans in the coming days, according to a spokesperson for the group, Geoff Vetter. But it’s unclear what races — or which chamber — it will target next.

Kara Calvert, Coinbase’s vice president of U.S. policy, said in an interview that bipartisanship has been crypto’s “superpower.”

“Nobody is eager to erode that,” she said.

Though Fairshake says it will maintain a bipartisan approach, it hasn’t specified what shape that will take. One potential avenue for the PAC is to continue to back crypto-friendly Democrats running for the House — where the Clarity bill advanced with 78 Democratic votes last year — but primarily help Republicans in the Senate.

Fairshake spent in favor of several Senate Democrats in the 2024 elections, including in battleground general election races in Michigan and Arizona, where it backed Democratic Sens. Elissa Slotkin and Ruben Gallego, respectively. It also plowed more than $40 million into the effort to help defeat Brown in his 2024 reelection campaign — by far its biggest spend of the cycle.

This time, Republicans are pressing the industry to recalibrate its approach and ditch the Democrats.

“To reward people who voted against the motion to proceed on Clarity after the Democrats got 126 amendments in the bill would be a huge mistake,” said Sen. Cynthia Lummis, the crypto bill’s leading champion in the Senate. The Wyoming Republican is retiring when her term ends in January.

Democrats, who feel increasingly confident about their chances in November despite the GOP’s spending advantages, say Republicans are trying to play the crypto industry.

It’s “been the goal of Republican colleagues all along to try to get folks to invest in races, versus them trying to get a piece of legislation done, and someone needs to call the Republicans out on their bullshit,” said Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), who added: “Sherrod’s gonna win.”