Former German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn took to social media to criticize FIFA’s decision to overturn the suspension of American forward Balogun, drawing a parallel with Michael Ballack’s suspension in the 2002 World Cup final. The decision was made following an alleged intervention by former U.S. President Donald Trump, who claimed to have discussed the matter with FIFA. Gianni Infantino, the organization’s president, confirmed the conversation but emphasized the independence of its committees. For Kahn, this decision amounts to ‘rewriting the history of football.’ In an ironic post, the former keeper suggested that, following the same logic, FIFA should also annul the sanction that kept Michael Ballack out of the 2002 World Cup final against Brazil. ‘If we are rewriting the history of football now, I have a small suggestion: I would like FIFA to annul the yellow card shown to Michael Ballack in the semi-final of the 2002 World Cup, the one that kept him out of the final. And since we are on this subject, we might as well replay the final against Brazil,’ he remarked. In the 2002 World Cup, Ballack, one of the key figures of the German national team, received a second yellow card in the semi-final against South Korea, which prevented him from playing in the decisive match. Following this incident, FIFA changed the regulations to clear yellow cards after the quarter-finals, to prevent a player from missing the final due to accumulated yellow cards. Interestingly, Oliver Kahn, who was named the best player of that World Cup, made a crucial mistake in the final. With the score at 0-0, he failed to hold onto a shot, allowing Ronaldo to score the first of two goals that secured a 2-0 victory for Brazil.
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