Former PGMOL chief Howard Webb has said he was left "really troubled" by FIFA's decision to overturn Folarin Balogun's World Cup red card, a move that followed political pressure from US president Donald Trump.
Webb, who is about to begin his fifth season as Chief Refereeing Officer, believes the incident has sparked unfounded accusations of widespread "corruption" that are dangerous for the image of football.
Webb's concerns over the decision
The 55-year-old said: "I was really troubled by it, really. I don't know the ins and outs of the process, obviously, what happened in the end, but the fact that we know... well, what do we know? We know for sure that a red card was shown."
"You can form your opinion about the validity of the red card, I understand why it was given and we know there was pressure placed by a politician onto FIFA, because that was admitted."
"We know that the suspension was taken away for that particular tournament and suspended through a process which seemingly didn't exist before the season, the tournament started."
Webb stressed that officials do their job on the field and make decisions, but the aftermath of this case has created a problematic environment.
"Where I was troubled by it was that we live in a world now which is different to the one that I occupied as a ref, in that decisions that are taken previously were viewed as correct or incorrect based on your judgement," he said.
"Far too often now, decisions are viewed as correct or corrupt by people who want to type all over social media. They try to draw inferences around decisions, around a decision that they don't agree with and what's the motivation behind that decision, which is born out of no facts, no evidence."
Impact on the game's image
Webb added: "But when you get that type of situation, it opens up space for people to think, ha-ha, you see, this sort of thing's happening all the time behind the scenes. And it's really not, in my experience, in my professional experience."
Premier League CEO Richard Masters also voiced his concern, having called for the sacking of FIFA president Gianni Infantino earlier this week.
Masters said: "We should be looking back on the World Cup, the football that was played, Spain being the best team, and England's agonising semi-final defeat. But we're not, we are talking about other issues, and that's a huge shame."
"The Balogun issue stands alone in that isolated incident which is very difficult to comprehend when you look at it. I think it is, again, a self-inflicted moment."
Questions over FIFA's process
Masters questioned why FIFA does not have a red card review process like those in other leagues, including the Premier League, where miscarriages of justice can be addressed.
"Why do FIFA not have a red card review process like the one that exists in many other leagues, including the Premier League, where if there has been a miscarriage of justice - not that I'm saying Balogun's red card was a miscarriage of justice - but it can be dealt with on that basis, rather than use a system which is only about the length of suspension which there is no option to overturn? That created controversy unnecessarily, in my view," he said.
