Balogun’s Red Card Overturned After Donald Trump Calls FIFA Ahead of Belgium Clash

FIFA announced on Sunday that it suspended the red card issued to U.S. striker Folarin Balogun during the match against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the round of 32, clearing him to play against Belgium in the World Cup round of 16.

In a statement on its website, FIFA wrote, “By operation of Article 27 FDC, the implementation of the automatic match suspension for USA player Folarin Balogun is suspended for a probationary period of one [1] year.”

ABC confirmed that President Donald Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino after the U.S. victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina to ask for a review of Balogun’s red card.

Trump later celebrated on social media, posting, “Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!” after the reversal was made public.

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The United States faces Belgium on Monday night at 8 p.m. ET in Seattle. The team will attempt to reach its first World Cup quarterfinal since 2002 after past round-of-16 exits to Ghana in 2010, Belgium in 2014 and the Netherlands in 2022.

U.S. Soccer released a statement saying, “We accept the decision of the Disciplinary Committee and are pleased that Folarin Balogun is eligible to compete tomorrow. Our full attention is focused on the Round of 16 match against Belgium in Seattle, and we look forward to the continued support of our amazing fans.”

Balogun’s teammates discovered his eligibility during the short bus ride to training at the University of Washington. Defender Chris Richards said, “I think a lot of us thought it was AI at first. We weren’t sure if it was true or not.”

Belgium’s federation released a statement expressing surprise at the ruling and said it was “investigating all potential options.” The Royal Belgian Football Association wrote, “The Royal Belgian Football Association is astonished by FIFA’s decision to declare suspended United States player Folarin Balogun eligible to play in the USA-Belgium match on Monday, 6 July at 5:00 p.m. [Seattle time].”

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The Belgian statement referenced FIFA regulations, arguing that while Article 27 of the Disciplinary Code allows suspensions to be withheld, Article 66.4 mandates that a red card automatically carries a suspension for the subsequent match. It further cited Article 10.5 of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Competition Regulations, noting that red card ejections normally result in an automatic one-match ban.

Later Sunday, U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said he had no role in the appeal and was focused solely on preparing his team. “[It was a] normal process and of course the federation for sure was working really hard,” Pochettino stated. “[U.S. Soccer CEO] J.T. [Batson] and the whole federation were working on trying to defend our situation and that’s it.”

Asked about politicians getting involved with FIFA decisions, Pochettino responded, “No, we cannot mix that. We cannot mix that.” He added that the ruling came purely from FIFA and described it as “very good for football” when unfair situations can be reviewed and reversed.

Balogun had scored the opening goal in the 45th minute of the 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina before being sent off in the 64th minute following a challenge on defender Tarik Muharemovic.

Speaking Friday, Balogun said he believed the red card was unfair, stating, “If you played the game, you would understand there are scenarios that you simply can’t avoid and it has to be taken into context when it’s being reviewed.”

Although U.S. Soccer did not make him available to the media on Sunday, Balogun posted a social media photo of himself standing in front of American fans with Michael Jackson’s “Bad” playing in the background.

FIFA reaffirmed that the decision was based on Article 27, explaining that the rule allows the disciplinary body to suspend a sanction for a probationary period of one to four years.

Past examples of FIFA using similar discretion were noted, including Cristiano Ronaldo’s suspension deferral in November and one-game deferrals granted for Nicolás Otamendi and Moisés Caicedo in April.

Historical parallels were also referenced to Brazil’s Garrincha, who was sent off in a 1962 semifinal but allowed to play in the final against Chile following political pressure.

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