Full story
Balogun ban lifted
FIFA lifted the red card suspension for leading scorer Folarin Balogun, allowing him to play against Belgium on Monday night after the U.S. striker’s one-match ban was suspended under Article 27 of FIFA’s Disciplinary Code.
“FIFA is being criticized over its decision to lift the red card suspension for leading scorer Folarin Balogun”
CBS News reported that FIFA’s disciplinary committee imposed a $40,000 fine against the U.S. Soccer Federation while suspending the one-match ban, and FIFA said the move was “decided considering all of the specific circumstances surrounding the incident and evidence available.”
The Union of European Football Associations said FIFA “crossed a red line,” and expressed its “disbelief” at a decision it called “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable.”
In the Oval Office, Donald Trump told reporters, “I didn’t think it was a foul,” framing his intervention as a review request after Balogun’s red card would have kept him out of the round of 16 World Cup match against Belgium.
The Royal Belgian Football Association said it was “astonished” by FIFA’s decision and added it contradicts FIFA’s own rules, while FIFA said its judicial bodies are independent and that it received a call from Trump.
Outrage and denials
Belgium’s governing body said it was “astonished” and argued FIFA’s action was in “direct contradiction” to World Cup regulations, while UEFA said FIFA’s decision “crossed a red line” and undermined “the integrity of the game and the credibility of the competition.”
In a statement, UEFA said “A minimum automatic suspension of one match following a red card is not a discretionary option,” and it warned that such a move cannot be made subject to exceptions “let alone in the middle of a tournament.”
Trump publicly celebrated the reversal, writing on Truth Social, “Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!” and he told reporters, “All I did was request a review, I didn’t say you have to do this.”
FIFA said it invoked article 27 to suspend the implementation of disciplinary measures for a period of “one to four years,” and CNN described the disciplinary committee’s use of that provision to keep Balogun from missing another game if he did not commit another similar red card offense in the next year.
Infantino denied wrongdoing, saying “FIFA's judicial bodies are independent,” and he said he explained during his conversation with Trump that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies.
What comes next
The dispute over Balogun’s eligibility spilled into appeals and further challenges, with FIFA announcing early that Belgium’s appeal was denied after the Royal Belgian Football Association said it sent a letter requesting a copy of the decision and an explanation of the process.
“Belgian appealed the decision on Monday morning and FIFA announced early in the afternoon that the appeal was denied.”
CNN said Belgium appealed the decision on Monday morning and that FIFA announced early in the afternoon that the appeal was denied, while the Guardian reported that FIFA had said US Soccer had no right of appeal but that Balogun’s ban was lifted for a 12-month probationary period.
The New Republic described a “wild chain reaction,” saying France appealed to FIFA to rescind Michael Olise’s yellow card after the match with Paraguay, and it also said FIFA denied an appeal from Belgium Monday challenging the decision to lift Balogun’s red card.
In the same account, Trump said he called Infantino himself and argued, “I’m the one that got them to [rescind the suspension],” while Infantino responded that he regularly discusses World Cup matters with the U.S. president and that the case would be decided by FIFA’s competent bodies.
The Guardian and other outlets framed the stakes as the tournament’s credibility, with UEFA warning that “When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake,” and the Royal Belgian Football Association saying it would continue to fight “in defence of the fundamental principles of ethics, fair competition, and the interests of football as a whole.”