FIFA lifts red-card ban on U.S. striker Balogun after presidential intervention
FIFA suspended the one-match ban for American forward Folarin Balogun, allowing him to play against Belgium, after U.S. President Donald Trump contacted FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
FIFA announced on Sunday that the automatic one-match suspension imposed on U.S. forward Folarin Balogen for a red card in the round of 32 has been lifted, clearing him to play in the round-of-16 match against Belgium on Monday. The decision follows a phone call by U.S. President Donald Trump to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, according to a source familiar with the conversation.
Balogun, who has scored three goals in the tournament, received a red card after a video review deemed his foot had stepped on Bosnia-Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemović’s ankle. The ban would have been the first World Cup red-card suspension not enforced since 1962.
"Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!" Trump said in a social-media statement.
The Royal Belgian Football Association described the ruling as "astonishing," and Belgium coach Rudi Garcia mocked the decision, likening it to an April Fools’ joke. The Belgian federation said it is exploring all options to protect the integrity of the competition.
U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino welcomed the reversal, saying the team had already been disadvantaged by playing with ten men after the original sanction. American teammate Christian Pulisic called the original foul "zero intent" and suggested other incidents had been more severe.
Balogun, a 25-year-old Monaco forward who switched his national allegiance from England to the United States in 2023, has become the second-most prolific U.S. scorer in World Cup history with three goals, matching Landon Donovan’s 2010 total.
FIFA cited Article 27 of its disciplinary rules, which allows a judicial body to suspend the implementation of a sanction for a probationary period. Similar deferments have been granted previously to players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Nicolás Otamendi.
The United States, seeking its first World Cup quarter-final appearance since 2002, will field Balogun against Belgium while the Belgian side considers possible appeals.