Just when it looked like Folarin Balogun would miss the USMNT’s biggest World Cup match in decades, FIFA changed course. The late decision to suspend a one-game red-card ban puts the team’s top scorer back in the lineup Monday night against Belgium.
FIFA has suspended the one-game red-card ban sustained by U.S. striker Folarin Balogun in the Round of 32 against Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 1, making him available to play in the team’s Round of 16 match against Belgium on Monday.
Balogun—the USMNT’s top goal scorer and a breakout star of the 2026 World Cup—was given a red card for stepping on the ankle of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Tarik Muharemović while falling in the match’s 64th minute. The decision came after a lengthy officiating review and sparked outrage among U.S. fans, who flocked to social media to argue the contact was accidental.
After the match, FIFA officials confirmed that the red card and subsequent ban could not be appealed. But that decision has since been reversed.
In a statement posted to its website Sunday, FIFA wrote: “By operation of Article 27 FDC, the implementation of the automatic match suspension for USA player Folarin Balogun is suspended for a probationary period of one (1) year.”
Article 27 of FIFA’s disciplinary code, noted by The Athletic, states that the organization’s judicial body reserves the right “to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure.”
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According to The New York Times, U.S. President Donald Trump made a direct call to FIFA president Gianni Infantino—with whom he has a close relationship—on Wednesday night to ask him to review the suspension. The president alluded to his involvement in a Truth Social post Sunday afternoon, writing, “Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!”
Political maneuvering aside, there is some precedent for the move. After incurring a three-match ban in a qualifier against the Republic of Ireland in November 2025, Cristiano Ronaldo was granted a one-year probationary period for the final two games of the suspension. Without this FIFA intervention, the Portugal captain would have had to sit out the start of the 2026 World Cup.
Still, the last-minute nature of the situation is largely unprecedented. The Royal Belgian Football Association released a statement Sunday, saying it was “astonished by FIFA’s decision” and is “investigating all potential options” to overturn it.
Added Belgium manager Rudi Garcia: “I didn’t know that July 5 was equal to April 1 at FIFA. … The Belgian federation isn’t just defending itself, it’s defending football … its integrity.”
The ban reversal will likely have huge implications, should it stand.
The USMNT hasn’t appeared in a Round of 16 match since 2002, and Balogun’s difference-making presence is sure to bring additional viewership and interest to a World Cup that is breaking attendance and viewership records with each round.
The match kicks off at 8 p.m. ET on Monday night at Seattle Stadium (renamed from Lumen Field for the duration of the tournament).
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