Read 3 minutesMumbai6 Jul 2026 09:27 AM IST
Donald Trump has urged FIFA chief Gianni Infantino to review Folarin Balogun’s red card, which preceded the governing body’s extraordinary decision to lift the American striker’s suspension, according to multiple reports. The decision prompted jubilant posts from the US president and outrage from Belgium ahead of Monday’s World Cup round of 16 clash.
Trump intervened on Balogun’s behalf, the Associated Press reported, and now that the suspension has been lifted, he will be allowed to face Belgium on Monday (Tuesday morning, IST). According to the Guardian, Trump made three phone calls to Infantino since last Wednesday.
Balogun, the United States’ leading scorer in the tournament with three goals, was sent off for an awkward step on the right ankle of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Tarik Muharremovic during the Americans’ 2-0 round-of-32 win on Wednesday, triggering an automatic one-game suspension.
FIFA announced on Sunday that the suspension had been lifted for the round of 16 match, an extraordinary decision that marked the first time since 1962 that a World Cup red card had not resulted in a suspension.
Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino after the match and asked FIFA to review the red card, the AP reported, citing a person familiar with the call.
“Thank you FIFA for doing the right thing and reversing a great injustice!” Trump said in a statement on social media.
Belgium reacted angrily to the decision. The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) said it was “surprised”, while coach Rudi Garcia scoffed at FIFA’s decision.
“I didn’t know that the fifth of July was the first day of April in Europe at the Fifa office,” Garcia said through a translator, drawing comparisons to April Fool’s Day.
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“The Belgian federation does not defend itself, it does not defend the national team. It defends football in general, it defends its integrity, its ethics. I think this is the first time in the history of the World Cup that such a decision has been made.”
FIFA said the decision was taken in accordance with its rules. “In accordance with Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, the enforcement of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year. If Folarin Balogun commits another violation of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension will be revoked and additional enforcement will be imposed without prejudice to any new violation,” FIFA said in a statement.
According to reports, a total of 189 red cards have been shown in the history of the World Cup. However, only two players have not been suspended. Before Balogun, who finished second, was Brazil’s Garrincha in 1962. He was sent off in the semi-final against Chile, but played in the final against Czechoslovakia.