Balogun red-card reprieve draws backlash before US-Belgium match
FIFA let Folarin Balogun play against Belgium after Trump sought a review, prompting split reactions from fans, officials and commentators.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
3 min read
FIFA’s decision to lift Folarin Balogun’s one-match suspension has put the United States’ World Cup campaign at the center of a political and sporting dispute hours before its last-16 match against Belgium. The ruling matters because Balogun is the US team’s leading scorer in the tournament, and President Donald Trump has said he personally asked FIFA to look again at the case.
Balogun had been sent off against Bosnia and Herzegovina after studs-up contact near the ankle of Tarik Muharemovic, according to Al Jazeera. The incident went to an on-field VAR review, and the red card carried at least a one-game ban before a FIFA panel suspended the punishment.
Al Jazeera reported that FIFA did not explain the reversal. FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement that he told Trump the matter was before FIFA’s independent judicial bodies and would be decided by the proper officials.
“That is how FIFA’s system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold,” Infantino said, according to Al Jazeera.
Trump says he asked for a review
Trump confirmed Monday that he had raised the Balogun case with FIFA. “All I did – I asked for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump told reporters, according to Al Jazeera.
Trump also questioned the referee who issued the card, calling the official “very suspect” and saying the US had looked into the referee’s record, Al Jazeera reported. “If you like I can provide you with the past,” Trump said.
The episode angered Belgian football officials, according to Al Jazeera, while several US political figures and commentators welcomed the outcome. Republican Senator Ted Cruz thanked Trump for “getting rid of that ridiculous red card,” and Republican Senator Tom Cotton wrote on X that Trump had urged FIFA “to do the right thing.”
Fox Sports analyst Alexi Lalas, a former US player, told Fox News that the reversal was surprising but positive for the team. Lalas said the US Soccer Federation used available rules to give the team its best chance to advance.
Fans and commentators split
Among US supporters interviewed by Al Jazeera in Washington, DC, reaction was mixed. Cesar Espino said Balogun’s availability would taint a US win because of the forward’s importance to the team, and he argued the decision would make the host nation less popular after other controversies during the tournament.
Oscar Ramirez, 23, told Al Jazeera the case was more complicated because he believed the red card was unfair. He said some fans would prefer the original decision stand, while others would see FIFA’s reversal as correcting a mistake.
Ramirez said he supported the outcome as a US fan because Balogun gives the team a better chance, Al Jazeera reported.
CBS Sports commentator Nico Cantor took a different view on X, saying FIFA had created a “dangerous precedent” even though he did not think Balogun deserved to be sent off. Cantor said decisions based on a referee’s interpretation could now face pressure after the match.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani had called the original red card “cruel,” according to Al Jazeera, but avoided directly addressing the reversal. He posted a GIF of Jose Mourinho saying, “I prefer not to speak. If I speak – big trouble.”
Another US fan, Lucas Faria, told Al Jazeera the decision was “crazy” but said he did not think it would break public trust in a tournament already marked by controversy. He said the US players should not be blamed for a FIFA decision.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.