July 6 – In an unprecedented decision, FIFA have reversed the red-card suspension of US striker Folarin Balogun for tonight’s round of 16 tie against Belgium following lobbying by US President Donald Trump.

According to media reports, Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to demand the world governing body review the suspension of the US top scorer – and FIFA duly obliged.

A red card leads to an automatic one-match suspension with no appeal. It is the first time since the 1962 World Cup that FIFA has reversed a suspension for a red card received during the World Cup.

On Truth Social, Trump wrote: “Thank you to Fifa for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!” 

A statement from the governing body and World Cup organiser read: “In line with article 27 of the FIFA disciplinary code, the implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year.

Article 27 of FIFA’s disciplinary code states that “the judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure.” The article continues: “If the person benefiting from a suspended sanction commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked by the judicial body and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.”

The world governing body previously applied the article to clear Cristiano Ronaldo to start at the World Cup after his red card against the Republic of Ireland. He served a one-match suspension but two others were probationary. 

However, article 10.5 of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Competition Regulations sets out: “If a player or team official is sent off as a result of a direct or indirect red card (second caution), they will automatically be suspended from their team’s subsequent match. In addition, further sanctions may be imposed.”

The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) said in a statement that it was “astonished” at the decision and it was “investigating all potential options”. The Belgian FA is headed by Pascale Van Damme, a member of the FIFA Council. 

The statement said that FIFA had acted in direct contravention of its own regulations as well as against what it had briefed to competing teams at a meeting before the World Cup and in a letter sent to federations in May.

In a news conference, Belgian manager Rudia Garcia said: “The Belgian federation isn’t just defending itself or the national team; it’s defending football in general — its integrity and its ethics.”

Garcia added: “I didn’t know that at the World Cup July 5 is actually April 1. It’s April Fools.”

His American counterpart Mauricio Pochettino, in a remarkable comment, praised FIFA’s inexplicable decision. “Everyone that really loves the sport and trusts ethics and integrity, I think we celebrate all that decision. We were punished enough against Bosnia Herzegovina to play with 10 men for 30 minutes [because of] a decision that was completely unfair… 99.9% of people agree there was an unfair red card,” said Pochettino.

FIFA did not respond to a request for comment, though are presumably waiting for authorisation from the White House before doing so?

The full Belgian FA statement translated from French is below:

“The RBFA is stunned by FIFA’s decision to declare suspended American player Folarin Balogun eligible to play in the USA-Belgium match on Monday, July 6 at 5:00 PM (Seattle time). FIFA bases its decision on Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. This provision stipulates that the FIFA Disciplinary Committee may decide to suspend the execution of a previously imposed disciplinary sanction. However, Article 66.4 of the same FIFA Disciplinary Code clearly states that a red card (expulsion) automatically results in a suspension for the team’s next match, as has been the case for all previous red cards issued during this FIFA World Cup.” Furthermore, regardless of the above, this decision directly contradicts the provisions of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Competition Regulations, specifically Article 10.5: “If a player or team official is sent off due to a direct or indirect red card (second yellow card), they will automatically be suspended from their team’s next match. In addition, further sanctions may be imposed.” “The automatic nature of such a suspension was also explicitly reaffirmed in FIFA World Cup 2026 Circular No. 16, which was distributed to all participating member associations on May 12, 2026. The same rule is repeated at every FIFA World Cup 2026 Match Coordination Meeting before each match and is included in all FIFA World Cup 2026 workshop presentations. In order to safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both at this FIFA World Cup and in future editions of the tournament, the RBFA is examining all potential options.” (Official)

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