Sports
IOC asked to investigate FIFA president's role in Balogun reversal
June 27, 2026; Miami Gardens, Florida, U.S.; FIFA President Gianni Infantino and FBI Director Kash Patel in the stands before the match. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images The International Olympic Committee has received a complaint alleging FIFA president Gianni Infantino has repeatedly breached rules on political neutrality in his support of President Donald Trump.
FairSquare, a nonprofit organization and advocacy group, asked the IOC to investigate, among several instances, Infantino’s possible involvement in the suspension of a one-game ban for striker Folarin Balogun, enabling him to play for the United States in a round of 16 match on July 6 against Belgium.
Infantino acknowledged receiving a call from Trump, who publicly lobbied for Balogun to play, but the FIFA president said he did not interfere with the decision-making process.
Balogun played as the USMNT was eliminated 4-1 by Belgium. He had received a direct red card in the 64th minute of a July 1 match for a foul on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Tarik Muharemovic. The U.S. went on to win 2-0 with 10 men in the round of 32, and Balogun was suspended for the next game.
A red card or suspension cannot be appealed. FIFA, however, posted this message without further explanation to its website on July 5 about its use of the rule book in the case: “By operation of Article 27 FDC, the implementation of the automatic match suspension for USA player Folarin Balogun is suspended for a probationary period of one (1) year.”
“All I did was ask for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump said on the day of the game against Belgium. “And, you know, again, I’m good at this stuff. I didn’t think it was a foul. I thought it was two great athletes that crashed into each other and got entangled.
“I think they made a really brilliant decision. I think the referee’s call was horrible and nobody talks about that. They talk about the red card like it’s fine, nobody talks the referee’s decision to red card.”
Infantino said FIFA’s judicial committees act autonomously in a statement on his behalf on FIFA’s website.
“Their independence is essential to the credibility and integrity of football, and this must always be respected,” the statement read.
FairSquare, in its complaint, is questioning the credibility and integrity of Infantino, who also became an IOC member in 2020. The organization said he “is obliged to adhere to strict rules on political neutrality in the Olympic Charter and the IOC Code of Ethics, adding that the IOC can expel members who don’t fulfill these obligations.
“As outlined in the FairSquare complaint, there is compelling evidence that Infantino has committed five clear breaches of IOC rules on political neutrality through statements or other clear expressions of support for the US President,” FairSquare posted on its website.
One “serious breach” in the complaint was the Balogun situation with Infantino possibly giving in to pressure from Trump. Another was Infantino promoting a FIFA fan site for the 2026 World Cup, “which appears to have been part of a data-harvesting campaign run by entities linked to President Trump,” FairSquare wrote.
Another alleged breach was Infantino’s supportive post on his Instagram account after attending an event linked to Trump’s presidential inauguration in January 2025.
Infantino also publicly endorsed Trump for the Nobel Prize in October 2025, and he made more supportive comments in November. In December, Infantino presented Trump with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize at the World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center.
FairSquare also made a complaint to FIFA’s ethics committee in December, which was supported by the Norwegian football federation as well as 50 members of the European Parliament in a separate writing on June 29.
The IOC and FIFA did not respond to requests for comment from multiple media outlets.
–Field Level Media
Sports
WTA roundup: Paula Badosa earns upset win in Romania
Jun 30, 2026; London, United Kingdom; Paula Badosa (ESP) hits a backhand against Emma Navarro (USA) (not pictured) on day two of The Championships Wimbledon 2026 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images Paula Badosa of Spain knocked out fourth-seeded Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina 6-3, 6-1 on Tuesday to reach the second round of the UniCredit Iasi Open in Romania.
Kalinina committed eight double faults and held serve just twice across the two sets. Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse also made an early exit, with Spain’s Kaitlin Quevedo eliminating the sixth seed 6-3, 6-1. Quevedo saved 12 of the 14 break points she faced and broke Ruse six times.
Third-seeded Oleksandra Oliynykova of Ukraine survived two tiebreakers to beat Turkish lucky loser Ipek Oz 7-6 (1), 7-6 (5), while No. 5 seed Panna Udvardy of Hungary outlasted Spain’s Leyre Romero Gormaz 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. French No. 8 seed Elsa Jacquemot and No. 9 seed Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan also advanced in straight sets.
Other winners included Slovenia’s Tamara Zidansek, Armenia’s Elina Avanesyan, Mayar Sherif of Egypt, Alevtina Ibragimova and Elena Pridankina of Russia and Poland’s Katarzyna Kawa.
Athens Open
Top-seeded Clara Tauson of Denmark recovered from a slow start to defeat Japanese qualifier Nao Hibino 7-5, 6-4 in the opening round in Greece.
Tauson fell behind by a break in the first set but worked her way back, eventually converting four break points for the match while limiting Hibino to two. No. 2 seed Ann Li had a more comfortable afternoon, sweeping Maria Timofeeva of Uzbekistan 6-2, 6-1 in 79 minutes.
Third-seeded Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic also advanced in 79 minutes, beating Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova 6-3, 6-3. Seventh-seeded Czech Tereza Valentova cruised past Belgium’s Sofia Costoulas 6-1, 6-2. Italian lucky loser Miriana Tona earned her first WTA main-draw victory by beating Greek wild card Sapfo Sakellaridi 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2 in a match lasting three hours, eight minutes. France’s Carole Monnet, Russia’s Alina Korneeva and Belarus’ Aliaksandra Sasnovich also won their matches.
–Field Level Media
Sports
ATP roundup: Stan Wawrinka bids farewell to Gstaad
Jun 30, 2026; London, United Kingdom; Stan Wawrinka (SUI) hits a forehand against Matteo Berrettini (ITA) (not pictured) on day two of The Championships Wimbledon 2026 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images Portugal’s Jaime Faria held off Stan Wawrinka 6-7 (8), 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday in the first round of the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad, marking the 41-year-old’s final match on the clay in his homeland.
Wawrinka has said he will retire after this season. The three-time Grand Slam champion was presented with a gift of new skis by tournament organizers after his nearly two-hour, 38-minute affair, in which he smashed 16 aces but went 0-for-6 in break-point chances.
Greek veteran Stefanos Tsitsipas took down Peruvian No. 5 seed Ignacio Buse 6-4, 6-4, winning 37 of his 48 service points (77.1%) along the way. No. 6 seed Juan Manuel Cerundolo rallied past Zdenek Kolar of the Czech Republic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, while Frenchman Quentin Halys, German Yannick Hanfmann, Kazakhstan’s Aleksandr Shevchenko and Swiss wild card Jerome Kym also advanced.
Nordea Open
No. 8 seed Sebastian Baez dropped the first set before charging past Swedish hopeful Max Dahlin 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in Bastad, Sweden.
The other seeded players in action all held firm, as No. 5 seed Nuno Borges of Portugal beat French wild card Moise Kouame 6-4, 6-2; No. 6 Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands beat Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel 7-6 (0), 6-4; and No. 7 Thiago Agustin Tirante of Argentina eliminated Austria’s Sebastian Ofner 6-3, 6-4.
Other winners included Germany’s Daniel Altmaier, Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili, Bulgarian wild card Grigor Dimitrov, Argentina’s Lautaro Midon, Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo and Italians Andrea Pellegrino and Stefano Travaglia.
Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag
France’s Titouan Droguet won 11 of the final 12 games of his match to steamroll No. 5 seed Alexander Blockx of Belgium 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 in Umag, Croatia.
No. 7 seed Camilo Ugo Carabelli of Argentina avoided a similar fate as Blockx when he rallied from down a break in the second set to edge German qualifier Marko Topo 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 6-3.
Also advancing were Spaniards Pablo Carreno Busta and Daniel Merida, Argentines Roman Andres Burruchaga and Federico Agustin Gomez, Alex Molcan of Slovakia and Juan Carlos Prado Angelo of Bolivia.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Streaking Valkyries bring 7-game win streak to Caitlin Clark, Fever
Jul 12, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) dribbles the ball during the first quarter of a WNBA basketball game against the Las Vegas Aces at Michelob Ultra Arena. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images Riding a club-record seven-game winning streak, the Golden State Valkyries are the hottest team in the WNBA.
They could still face a daunting road task against the surging Indiana Fever on Wednesday night in Indianapolis.
Entering play Tuesday, the Valkyries (17-7) were tied for the second-best record in the WNBA. On Friday, Golden State posted a 79-64 victory over Connecticut and set a WNBA record for the fastest expansion team to reach 40 wins, doing so in 68 contests.
Playing without injured star Gabby Williams (back contusion), the Valkyries trailed 19-17 after one quarter, then held the Sun to 45 points the rest of the way and shot 51.7% overall.
“We find different ways to win, and we just rely on every single person on this team,” said Golden State’s Veronica Burton, who had game highs of 17 points and six assists.
“Everyone can step up and contribute.”
It’s uncertain if Williams (15.0 ppg) will be available Wednesday for the Valkyries, who have held their last seven opponents to an average of 68.4 points and will try for a fifth consecutive road victory. A winner in 11 of its past 13, Golden State lost 90-82 at Indiana (14-9) on May 22. Burton (12.3 ppg) scored 25 and recorded five blocks during a 90-88 home win over the Fever six days later.
Indiana star Caitlin Clark had a combined 38 points while going 6-for-15 from 3-point range, with 15 assists in the season’s two previous meetings with Golden State. With her minutes restricted due to a lingering back issue, Clark recorded 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists in 24 minutes during Indiana’s 109-75 rout of Las Vegas on Sunday.
The win was the Fever’s fourth in five games, completing a 3-1 road stretch. They’ve scored at least 109 points three times in the past six contests.
“We’re building consistency to these types of efforts,” said Fever coach Stephanie White, whose team shot 55.9% overall and 15-for-31 from beyond the arc against the Aces.
“Just really proud of this group and how connected we continue to grow into.”
Fellow Indiana star Kelsey Mitchell (22.7 ppg) scored 27 on Sunday and has averaged 27.1 points across the past seven games. The Valkyries held her to 33 total points on a combined 9-of-23 shooting in the previous 2026 meetings.
–Field Level Media
WTA roundup: Paula Badosa earns upset win in Romania
ATP roundup: Stan Wawrinka bids farewell to Gstaad
