The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) suspended two United States Soccer Federation employees ahead of the World Cup Round of 16 match against Belgium, APA reports citing Front Office Sports.
According to the publication, the individuals in question are team manager Sam Zapatka and US Soccer's vice president of security, Frank Pannell. The reasons for the suspensions were not specified, but a representative of the US Soccer Federation confirmed the sanctions and referred further questions to FIFA, which declined to comment.
The publication notes that the suspensions could be related to the situation surrounding striker Folarin Balogun, although there is no direct confirmation of this. FIFA previously suspended his one-match suspension following his red card in the 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, allowing him to play against Belgium. The US team lost the match 4-1.
Sam Zapatka has been with the US Soccer Federation for 11 years. He began his career as a national team coordinator and later became a team manager. According to Front Office Sports, Frank Pannell served in the US Secret Service and the Central Intelligence Agency before joining the US Soccer Federation, after which he worked in private security.
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