The U.S. national team’s World Cup campaign took an unusual turn on Sunday as FIFA appeared to break its own rules and allow star player Folarin Balogun to play against Belgium in Monday’s round of 16, despite receiving a red card in Wednesday’s round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The international soccer federation announced it had suspended issuing red cards after US President Donald Trump urged FIFA chief Gianni Infantino to reconsider the matter. This meant an automatic one-game suspension.
Balogun, who plays club soccer for France’s Monaco, is the team’s top scorer at this World Cup, scoring three goals for the co-hosts.
FIFA’s decision prompted criticism from the Belgian Football Association, Europe’s top soccer body, a former FIFA president, several former top players and many others. Critics argued that overturning a red card suspension after direct political interference undermined the integrity of the competition and set a dangerous precedent.
The Belgian Football Association also accused FIFA on Monday night of effectively killing any opportunity to challenge the international sports body’s decision. Hours later, FIFA rejected Belgium’s appeal against the decision.
Let’s take a closer look at what happened and why it caused such a storm.
Why did Balogun receive a red card?
Balogun received an automatic one-game suspension after receiving a red card for awkwardly stepping on the right ankle of Bosnia’s Tarik Mujaremović during the United States’ 2-0 win in the Round of 32.
Fans and commentators were divided over the first red card. Some felt it was justified, while others argued that Balogun lost his balance and made accidental contact rather than intentionally stepping on him. On Friday, Balogun said he thought a yellow card instead of a red “would have been fairer.”
President Trump ultimately intervened on his behalf, and the decision lifted his red card suspension and allowed him to play in Monday’s World Cup game against Belgium.
FIFA lifted the ban under Article 27 of the Disciplinary Commission Regulations.
“The judicial body may decide to suspend, in whole or in part, the implementation of disciplinary measures,” the regulation states. “By suspending the enforcement of sanctions, the judicial body imposes a suspended sentence of one to four years on the sanctioned person.”
The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) did not release Balogun’s comments on Sunday, but the player posted a photo of himself in front of fans on social media overlaid with music from Michael Jackson’s pop single “Bad.”
Has something like this happened before?
This is the first time since 1962 that a player was not suspended for a red card during a World Cup.
At the 1962 World Cup in Chile, Brazil star Garrincha received a red card during his team’s 4-2 victory over the hosts in the semi-finals. At the time, a red card did not lead to an automatic suspension from the next match, and a disciplinary committee was supposed to examine the evidence and decide on the sanction. In Garrincha’s case, the committee decided to send him off with a warning. Garrincha played in Brazil’s 3-1 final victory over Czechoslovakia, as the South American soccer giants won their second consecutive World Cup.
Most recently, Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo was allowed to play in the opening match of the World Cup after being suspended by FIFA for the last two games of a three-game suspension he received after receiving a red card against the Republic of Ireland last year. Before receiving the reprieve, he was prepared to miss the first two games of the World Cup.
Meanwhile, Qatari midfielder Asim Madibo was suspended for five games after receiving a red card for a tackle that seriously injured Canadian midfielder Ismael Kone during a group match at the tournament.
Monday’s match will be played against the backdrop of one of the tournament’s most contentious decisions, and the debate over FIFA’s authority is unlikely to end after the final whistle.
What was your reaction to the red card?
The decision to suspend Balogun for his red card sparked one of the tournament’s biggest controversies.
The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) said it was “surprised”.
“The RBFA is considering all possible options to protect the legitimate rights of all participating teams and uphold the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both at this FIFA World Cup and in future tournaments,” the RBFA said in a statement.
Belgium coach Rudi Garcia ridiculed FIFA’s actions. “At the FIFA office, we didn’t know that July 5th is April 1st in Europe,” Garcia said through an interpreter during the April Fool’s comparison. “The Belgian federation is not defending itself, it is not defending the national team. She is defending football in general, she is defending her integrity and her ethics.”
“Yesterday’s decision to suspend the automatic one-match suspension following the red card given to Folarin Balogun for a one-year trial period crossed a red line that should not be crossed,” European Football Association (UEFA) said in a statement on Monday.
UEFA added in a statement: “We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, inexplicable and unjust decision.”
Sepp Blatter, who led FIFA from 1998 to 2015, also criticized FIFA’s decision.
“Red cards are not overturned by political phone calls. They are overruled by rules, evidence and independent bodies. When the President of the United States intervenes with the FIFA president and a player is suddenly cleared before the World Cup final, the question is unavoidable: ‘Quo Vadis, FIFA?'” he wrote to X.
Other soccer experts also weighed in.
“What about the next red card? What will happen then?” said Norway national team coach Starre Solbakken. “This is a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad decision that will have a negative impact on the World Cup.”
England manager Thomas Tuchel fears more decisions could be challenged in the future, including whether the yellow cards for England’s Declan Rice and France’s Michael Oliset will be overturned.
Tuchel said he believed Balogun did not deserve a red card, but questioned the decision to hold off on the penalty after having just seen defender Jarrell Quansah sent off in his side’s 3-2 last-16 win on Sunday.
“First of all, I want to make it clear that it was not a red card (for Balogun). But VAR was involved, obviously three people in VAR checked it and there was an opinion that it was a red card, so the decision was taken,” Tuchel told reporters at Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium.
“Who will reverse this decision and when? And on what basis? How far has this gone now? This is strange to me… where does this begin and where does it end?”
Soccer experts condemned FIFA’s decision in an interview with British television station ITV.
Former England soccer player Ian Wright said: “We talk about integrity, people talk about transparency, but when you look at what happened with some teams in this tournament, especially as an American player, that something like this could happen… it was shameful. Whether he was guilty of what he did, whether we think he shouldn’t have done it or not, some of the things that have happened in this World Cup are shameful.”
“It looks unfair because it’s unfair,” said Roy Keane, a former Irish professional footballer and television pundit.
What was Trump’s role in all this?
Trump called Infantino after the game and asked FIFA to review the red card. He confirmed the conversation in an exchange with journalists in the Oval Office on Monday.
“I saw the play, and I’m a sports guy, I’m a good athlete. I understand sports really well. And it wasn’t a foul. It wasn’t even a violation. It was two guys running at full speed who collided by accident,” Trump said, calling referee Rafael Klaus of Brazil “very suspicious.”
“Yes, I asked FIFA for a review,” he added, describing Infantino as a “highly respected” person.
Earlier, President Trump wrote on social media: “Thank you FIFA for doing the right thing and reversing a great injustice!”
Infantino justified FIFA’s move and the dialogue with Trump in a statement Monday night.
“Yes, I regularly discuss issues related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States. In this regard, I also received a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, soccer officials, and business executives around the world on a variety of issues,” he said. But Infantino claimed he told Trump that a review of the decision would be done by an independent body. The FIFA chief has effectively distanced himself from Balogun’s red card suspension, insisting that he does not interfere with the functioning of these institutions.
Manager Pochettino also praised FIFA’s move.
“It was a completely unfair decision and we were punished enough by playing with 10 men for 30 minutes against Bosnia and Herzegovina,” he said, referring to the fact that the team had to play the rest of the game with one fewer man after Balogun received a red card and was sent off.
Pochettino, who played for Argentina at the 2002 World Cup, was not surprised by Trump’s decision to call up Infantino.
“I come from a culture, whether it’s Argentina or Europe, where football, soccer is a religion that transcends religion,” he said. “If we keep moving forward and keep moving forward, maybe tomorrow we’ll take another step and see that sport is magic, that sport is great, that it’s very powerful, that it brings people together, that it brings countries like ours together.”
What rules did FIFA violate, according to critics?
The Belgian Football Association has said it may appeal FIFA’s ruling, saying it breached a number of its own rules.
In justifying its decision, the Football Association cited Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Law, which allows for the suspension of enforcement of previously imposed disciplinary sanctions.
However, the RBFA pointed to Article 66.4 of the Regulations, which automatically imposes a one-match suspension if a player receives a red card. It also referred to Article 10.5 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Laws, which states: “If a player or team official is sent off due to a direct or indirect red card (second warning), he or she will be automatically suspended from the team’s subsequent matches. Further sanctions may also be imposed.”
Circular No. 16 for the 2026 FIFA World Cup also confirms an automatic one-match suspension in the event of a red card.
What’s the latest news?
On Monday afternoon, the Belgian Football Association released a new statement detailing its communications with FIFA.
He said he had asked FIFA for a copy of the decision and an explanation.
“In its only response, FIFA has written to the RBFA (Belgian Football Federation) stating that it considers this action to be equivalent to an appeal, that a judge has been appointed and that the RBFA has only a few hours to complete the appeal.” “FIFA has not provided any information.”
The Belgian federation said FIFA’s own rules state that anyone appealing a decision must explain the reasons for the decision. The Belgian Football Association said: “Although the RBFA was only seeking a justifiable explanation, FIFA itself drafted the appeal and immediately ensured that the act was inadmissible.”
He also claimed that, unlike in previous matches of the 2026 World Cup, FIFA did not mention the “clause regarding automatic suspension of players” in its presentation at the match coordination meeting ahead of the match between Belgium and the United States. The Belgian federation said it asked FIFA why this section was omitted but did not receive an answer.
Hours later, FIFA rejected Belgium’s appeal, calling it “unacceptable” as Belgian football authorities had previously warned.
