Wayne Rooney has branded it "an absolute disgrace" that US striker Folarin Balogun's one-match ban was suspended by FIFA, allowing him to play in Monday's last-16 World Cup clash against Belgium. The former England captain's furious outburst on BBC punditry panel came hours after FIFA announced the decision — a move the Royal Belgian Football Association said left it "astonished" and "investigating all potential options".
Balogun, the US's leading scorer with three goals, was sent off in the last-32 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina for catching Tarik Muharemovic on the back of the ankle. Under World Cup rules, a red card carries an automatic one-game ban, yet FIFA's disciplinary committee suspended the suspension for one year using Article 27 of its disciplinary code — the same article previously used to clear Cristiano Ronaldo to start Portugal's opening game after a red card against the Republic of Ireland.
“Rooney calls Balogun red card suspension 'disgrace' after Trump's FIFA lobbying emerges.”
No explanation was offered for the decision. The US had not even lodged an appeal against the red card.
Sources told the Guardian that Donald Trump made three calls to FIFA president Gianni Infantino starting Wednesday to push for the ban to be lifted. The US president later thanked FIFA on his Truth Social platform: "Thank you to Fifa for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice! President DONALD J. TRUMP."
Rooney, speaking on BBC Sport, said: "I think it's an absolute disgrace, I really do. I know it's UEFA but I got a three-game ban before Euro 2012. I was due to miss the three group games and I got told if I went over to Switzerland and did a training session with a bunch of kids, my third game would get taken off. I agreed to do it because I didn't want a three-game ban but I thought that was wrong."
He added: "For this to be suspended, they either take the red card away which is probably the right decision and then he can play. But to suspend it for a year? I think it's an absolute disgrace. Infantino should be ashamed of this. The sportsmanship of this game is in question here."
Fellow pundit Joe Hart said: "It doesn't feel right does it?" while Micah Richards described the situation as "an absolute farce".
The decision has reignited comparisons with 1962, when Brazil's Garrincha was sent off in the semi-final but played in the final after a committee — then shrouded in allegations of political interference — overturned the ban. Unlike then, the World Cup rules now explicitly state there is no right to appeal a red card.
Belgium manager Rudi Garcia said: "I didn't know that 5 July was equal to 1 April [April Fools' Day] at Fifa." The Belgian FA pointed out that the suspension contradicted FIFA statutes which say the one-game ban is applied "automatically".
There have been 189 red cards in World Cup history; only two players have not served a suspension: Garrincha and now Balogun. The decision leaves football asking: will more appeals follow, and can any red card suspension now be trusted?