Red-card U-turn rocks FIFA World Cup 2026

2 hour(s) ago

UPDATED 2 hour(s) ago

FIFA WORLD CUP 2026

AFP, Los Angeles

PHOTO: REUTERS

The World Cup was plunged into uproar on Sunday after FIFA suspended a red card given to United States star Folarin Balogun ahead of the host nation's clash with Belgium, in a bombshell move welcomed by President Donald Trump but slammed as "astonishing" by Belgian officials.

The extraordinary FIFA ruling means that Balogun is now free to play for the World Cup co-hosts on Monday when they face Belgium in Seattle with a place in the quarter-finals at stake.

The forward, who has scored three goals at this World Cup, had been set to miss the match after being sent off for inadvertently treading on Bosnia defender Tarik Muharemovic in the USA's 2-0 victory in the last 32 on Wednesday.

Under FIFA rules, a straight red card automatically triggers a one-game ban, which cannot be appealed by the player's team.

United States Soccer Federation officials had not attempted to challenge the sanction, and Balogun himself had accepted the punishment.

But world football governing body FIFA said Sunday Balogun's ban will now be suspended for a year, without offering any specific explanation.

"Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!" Trump -- a close friend of FIFA President Gianni Infantino -- wrote on his Truth Social platform.

But the Royal Belgian Football Association reacted furiously at the move, adding that it was "investigating all potential options" in response to the decision.

"The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) is astonished by FIFA's decision to declare suspended United States player Folarin Balogun eligible to play in the USA-Belgium match on Monday," it said in a statement.

FIFA's ruling came three days after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US team had been "screwed" by the decision to send off Balogun.

"They got screwed with that red card," Rubio said during a brief White House appearance. "There needs to be an appeal process for that. It's probably too late for that, right?" the diplomat added.