Folarin Balogun will be available for the United States’ last-16 clash against Belgium on Monday night after Fifa suspended his one-match ban for a red card, a decision that followed direct lobbying by Donald Trump. The US president made three calls to Fifa president Gianni Infantino starting from Wednesday, sources have told the Guardian, to ensure the change was made. Trump later thanked the world governing body on Truth Social, writing: “Thank you to Fifa for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!”
Balogun, the US’s top scorer at the tournament with three goals, was sent off in the last-32 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina for catching Tarik Muharemovic on the back of his ankle. Under Fifa’s disciplinary code, a red card for serious foul play carries a minimum two-match ban, and World Cup rules do not allow teams to appeal. Yet Fifa’s disciplinary committee suspended the ban, citing Article 27 of the disciplinary code, which allows it to suspend sanctions not related to match-fixing. Balogun will now be on a one-year probationary period; if he commits “another infringement of a similar nature and gravity” within that year, the one-game ban will be served.
“Donald Trump lobbied Fifa to lift Folarin Balogun's suspension, sparking controversy ahead of US-Belgium clash.”
The decision has left the football world questioning the integrity of the disciplinary system. Only two players in World Cup history have avoided suspension after a red card – Garrincha in 1962, when no automatic ban existed, and now Balogun. The BBC’s US media partner CBS News confirmed that Trump called Infantino on Thursday, a call that sources described as speaking about the suspension. The Royal Belgian Football Association said it was “astonished” at the decision, pointing out that it contradicted Fifa’s own statutes, which state a red card carries a one-game ban “automatically”. Belgium’s manager, Rudi Garcia, said in French at a news conference: “I didn’t know that 5 July was equal to 1 April [April Fools’ Day] at Fifa. I think a lot of things are in it.”
Fifa’s disciplinary committee offered no explanation beyond Article 27, raising questions about whether political interference has set a dangerous precedent. With the White House’s well-documented close relationship with Fifa, the decision could encourage more appeals, even when red cards are justified. For now, Balogun’s reprieve gives the co-hosts a huge boost as they aim to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2002. But the controversy leaves a stain on the World Cup: if the next red card is shown, will anyone trust that the player will actually miss the next match?