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Folarin Balogun’s one-game suspension was unexpectedly suspended by FIFA, allowing the American forward to play in the World Cup round of 16 team match against Belgium. This decision was highly praised by US President Donald Trump and caused outrage from the Red Devils.
Balogun, the American leader with three goals, received a red card for clumsily stepping on the right ankle of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Tarik Muharemovic in a 2-0 round-of-16 win on Wednesday.
A red card results in an automatic one-game suspension, but U.S. players learned of Balogun’s availability when social media posts began popping up during Sunday’s 10-minute bus ride from their hotel to practice at the University of Washington Huskies’ football stadium.
“I think a lot of us thought it was artificial intelligence at first,” defenseman Chris Richards said. “We weren’t sure if it was true or not.”
Trump praised the decision
Trump praised FIFA’s decision. FIFA President Gianni Infantino has made repeated efforts to get closer to Trump, even presenting him with the FIFA World Prize at the World Cup draw.
“Thank you FIFA for doing the right thing and changing a huge injustice!” Trump announced this in his post on the social network.
US President Donald Trump holds up a red card during a meeting with FIFA President Gianni Infantino in the Oval Office of the White House in August 2018. (Leah Millis/Reuters/File)
The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) said it was “surprised”.
“This decision is in direct conflict with the 2026 FIFA World Cup Competition Regulations,” the statement said. “To protect the legal rights of all participating teams and uphold the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both at this World Cup and future tournaments, the RBFA is exploring all potential options.”
The red card and disqualification of Balogun for the 1/8 final match became one of the most controversial and important decisions of the World Cup.
“If you look at that foul, there was no intention at all,” American star Christian Pulisic said. “I felt there were much worse players in this tournament.”
The US Soccer Federation learned of the decision through a message sent by FIFA to its portal at 10:31 a.m. ET.
“The match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year,” FIFA said. “If Folarin Balogun commits another violation of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension will be revoked and the sanction will be imposed without prejudice to any additional sanctions imposed for the new violation.”
Balogun’s three goals, including one, gave the United States the lead against Bosnia. In 2010, he tied Landon Donovan for second most World Cup goals by an American, behind only Berthe Patenaude, who scored four in the inaugural tournament in 1930.
Monaco’s 25-year-old Balogun scored 13 goals in Ligue 1 last season. He has 12 goals in 30 matches for the national team. Born in Brooklyn to Nigerian parents who lived in London, he decided to switch allegiances to England in 2023, which he represented at under-21 level.
“He strikes fear into a lot of defenders,” Richards said.
The last time the United States reached the quarterfinals was 2002.
Host USA is aiming to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002. The Americans lost in the round of 16 to Ghana in 2010, Belgium in 2014 and the Netherlands in 2022. They failed to make it out of the group stage in 2006 and failed to qualify for the 2018 tournament.
The USSF said it would not give Balogun the opportunity to comment on Sunday, but Balogun posted on social media a photo of himself in front of American fans, set to music from Michael Jackson’s pop single “Bad.”
On Friday, Balogun said he believed a yellow card instead of a red “would have been fair.”
FIFA said its decision was based on Article 27 of the disciplinary committee rules.
“The judicial authority may decide to fully or partially suspend the execution of the disciplinary measure. Having suspended the execution of the sanction, the judicial authority subjects the person subject to punishment to a probationary period of one to four years,” the rule says.
In November, FIFA postponed the final two games due to a three-match ban for Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo for his red card against Ireland in a World Cup qualifier, allowing him to play at the start of the World Cup.
In April, Argentine defender Nicolás Otamendi and Ecuadorian midfielder Moises Caicedo had one-game suspensions suspended for red cards in qualifying matches, also allowing them to be available for the World Cup opener.
The Brazilian Garrincha was excluded from the 1962 semi-finals, but under political pressure he was allowed to play in the final against Chile.