When it comes to making rash, ill-conceived decisions there can be few organisations that do it with such aplomb as FIFA, but the latest ruling from world football’s governing body could be one of their most dangerous yet.

As of last week, the game’s lawmakers announced that all international matches taking place at high altitude (in excess of 2,500m above sea level to be precise), would be banned. The reason for this, FIFA claim, is because of concern over players’ health and the fact that playing at such dizzying heights gives teams an unfair advantage.

It was a decision that made few headlines in western Europe simply because it effects none of the major international sides, all of whom play their games well below the new limit, but in South America, where sides such as Bolivia and Ecuador regularly play their home games at high altitude, it has caused national outrage and created a storm which threatens to develop into an international nightmare for FIFA.

The Bolivian president Evo Morales has already launched a campaign against the ban, and this weekend thousands of supporters in Bolivia and Ecuador are expected to stage a protest at the ruling.

The reason, they claim, is because the ban is discriminatory against smaller nations and favours the footballing superpowers of Brazil and Argentina, who have both lobbied against playing at altitude in recent years, and as Morales explained: “We cannot allow discrimination in soccer, we cannot allow exclusion in the world of sports.”

To be fair to FIFA there is a legitimate claim that playing football at such high levels of altitude hands an unfair advantage to the home side who are already acclimatised to the gruelling conditions.

During the last qualifying campaign for the World Cup, Bolivia were unbeaten in their nine matches at home (their national stadium is in La Paz which is 3,600m above sea level) yet failed to win a game away, while Ecuador and Peru, two other nations who usually play their home games at grounds well above the new limit, also have impressive home records.

However, by declaring that this is an unacceptable situation FIFA have set a dangerous precedent, which begs the question; at what point does playing at your home ground become an unfair advantage?

Games played in the Baltic region often take place in temperatures well below zero, so will Russia and Macedonia be forced to play their matches at grounds where the conditions are not so favourable to them?

It’s probably highly unlikely, but by insisting on a new ruling where high altitude matches are concerned, FIFA are leaving themselves wide open to accusations that they are pandering to the desires of bigger nations such as Brazil and Argentina at the expense of smaller countries who are attempting to get a foothold on the ladder of international football.

At a time when the game is in danger of becoming increasingly dominated by major forces at both international and club level, FIFA are running the risk of making global football, and all its riches, accessible to only a few.