President Donald Trump thanked FIFA for suspending Folarin Balogun’s one-match ban and allowing the US striker to play in the World Cup co-hosts’ last-16 showdown against Belgium.
But there could still be another twist with The Athletic reporting Belgium has been granted the right to appeal the staggering call, while UEFA has accused FIFA of putting “the integrity of the game at stake”.
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Balogun had been set to miss Monday’s match after being shown a straight red card following a VAR review for stepping on the foot of a Bosnian defender in a last-32 clash that the US won 2-0.
Under FIFA rules, a straight red card automatically triggers a one-game ban, which cannot be appealed by the player’s team.
But football governing body FIFA said Sunday the ban will now be suspended for a year, in a surprise move for which no specific explanation was offered.
“Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
FIFA’s decision was immediately slammed by Belgian football officials, who released a statement saying they are “astonished” by a move that is “direct contradiction” with FIFA’s own World Cup 2026 regulations.
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The Royal Belgian Football Association said it was “investigating all potential options” to “safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport,” it said.
Both Belgium and the US were reportedly given until 5am PST Monday (10pm AEST) to make their submissions and a member of the FIFA appeals committee, not from UEFA or CONCACAF, will hear the case.
The two nations’ round-of-16 game kicks off at 5pm PST Monday (10am Tuesday AEST).
UEFA delivered a scathing statement on Monday evening AEST, declaring: “Yesterday’s decision to suspend for a probationary period of a year the implementation of the one-match automatic suspension following the red card issued to the player Folarin Balogun crossed a red line.
“Football, like any other sports, relies on rules, which are the basis for fair, honest and transparent competition. Sometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case not. A minimum automatic suspension of one match following a red card is not a discretionary option and does not require the decision of a competent body to be enacted. It is a principle embedded in regulations, which cannot be made subject to exceptions, let alone in the middle of a tournament where several other players have been in the same situation and regularly served their suspension.
“When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined. Equally, such decision creates a precedent in the ongoing tournament, where similar situations will now require an equal treatment, to the detriment of the competition.
“Football is the most loved sport in the world because it is a beautiful game and is trusted because it is played everywhere with the same laws. A tournament is never a pure standalone and, if the tournament in question is the World Cup, it has the power to drive positive or negative consequences on the game as a whole.
“We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision.”
Meanwhile former FIFA boss Sepp Blatter posted to social media: “Red cards are not overturned by political phone calls. They are overturned by rules, evidence and independent bodies. If a U.S. President intervenes with the FIFA President — and a player is suddenly cleared before a World Cup knockout match — the question is unavoidable: Quo vadis, FIFA?
“Football must never become a playground for political power.”
Balogun has been key to the USA’s progress in the tournament and his absence against Belgium would have been a blow to the team in the game in Seattle.
He has netted three times for the US this World Cup, including his brace in the opener against Paraguay.
US coach Mauricio Pochettino said Balogun should “never” have received a red card for the incident, insisting his player had simply been “fighting for the ball” and the contact was not intentional.
Pochettino said at the time it “should be fair” to appeal the decision. But after being informed a FIFA spokesman had said the ban could not be appealed, the US coach had appeared to accept he would have to consider “different options” to lead his team’s attack against Belgium.
Balogun himself told reporters on Friday the red card ban was “something I have to just accept” and that he was focused on simply supporting his teammates from the stands.
The decision to suspend the ban was taken by FIFA’s disciplinary committee. FIFA’s decision came after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had called for the card to be rescinded.
It has been met with widespread outrage
English great Gary Neville lashed out on ITV.
“It absolutely stinks,” said Neville.
“Let’s be really clear. But what I would say is the thing that stinks the most is there should be a review process in place. I actually didn’t think it was a red card, and I think there should be a process which allows it to be overturned.
“But if there’s no process for it to be overturned, and then somehow Fifa from nowhere have just decided to basically let a player play, and the rules [should be] the same for everybody.
“I would be absolutely raging if I was Belgium, and every other team in the tournament that’s had a player sent off that might think it’s been a little bit hard done to. And do you know something, are we surprised? No, not with this lot.”
Irish football reporter Gavin Cooney meanwhile tweeted. “This is just jaw-dropping,” “Infantino’s FIFA are heading for a crisis of legitimacy.”
“Brother this is insanity,” added football creator George Matthews.
The Telegraph’s chief sports writer Oliver Brown added to the outrage in a scathing column.
“If it were not extraordinary enough that Gianni Infantino has paid more visits to the Oval Office than Sir Keir Starmer, along comes a World Cup decision so heavy with political overtones that it takes the breath away,” Brown wrote.
He added: “But then the ban for the contentious red card he received during the victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina, with exquisitely convenient timing, was suspended, enabling Donald Trump, the US president, to mark a weekend of boisterous Fourth of July festivities with a final, unexpected celebration. The White House’s official reaction? “USA-USA-USA.”
“Very subtle. Except nothing about this jaw-dropping move had much nuance, with Infantino’s Fifa offering a novel interpretation of its own rules to delight Trump, disgust Belgium and spare the Americans’ most influential player.”
– ‘Boost’ –
“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,” a FIFA statement said.
“If Folarin Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.” There is some precedent for the decision.
Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off against Ireland for an elbow during a qualifying match for this World Cup.
The subsequent three-game ban meant the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was due to miss the opening two games of the 2026 World Cup.
But FIFA let him off the hook by suspending two matches of his ban. Balogun’s teammates on Sunday welcomed the move.
“Obviously for us it gives us a boost,” star forward Christian Pulisic told reporters in Seattle at training, The Athletic reported.
“We accept the decision of the Disciplinary Committee and are pleased that Folarin Balogun is eligible to compete tomorrow,” said US Soccer in a statement.
“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.”