{"id":784033,"date":"2026-07-06T14:48:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T14:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/784033\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T14:48:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T14:48:11","slug":"soccer-world-stunned-by-fifas-reversal-of-baloguns-red-card-suspension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/784033\/","title":{"rendered":"Soccer world stunned by FIFA\u2019s reversal of Balogun\u2019s red card suspension"},"content":{"rendered":"

The \u201csudden reversal\u201d of USMNT F Folarin Balogun\u2018s red card suspension \u201cimmediately touched off a furor about political interference and sporting integrity\u201d ahead of the U.S.\u2019s Round of 16 match against Belgium on Monday. President Trump wrote on Truth Social after the decision, \u201cThank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!\u201d The Belgian soccer association, meanwhile, said it was \u201castonished\u201d by the U-turn and that it was \u201cinvestigating all potential options\u201d ahead of the match. The federation added, \u201cThe decision is in direct contradiction with the provisions of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Competition Regulations\u201d (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7\/5<\/a>). <\/p>\n

UEFA criticized FIFA for an \u201cincomprehensible and unjustifiable decision\u201d\u202fto let Balogun play Monday. UEFA said in a statement that FIFA \u201ccrossed a red line\u201d with its decision not to enforce Balogun\u2019s mandatory one-game ban. UEFA, whose member federations include Belgium, said, \u201cSometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case not. When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined\u201d (AP, 7\/6<\/a>). FIFA\u2019s ruling also \u201cprompted criticism from inside soccer\u2019s global governing body,\u201d with one of the organization\u2019s VP describing it as an \u201cutter disgrace\u201d (POLITICO, 7\/5<\/a>). <\/p>\n

Belgium coach Rudi Garcia said of the decision, \u201cI didn\u2019t know the game was being played on April Fool\u2019s Day rather than July 6.\u201d Garcia: \u201cWe\u2019re not defending the national team or federation. We are defending football.\u201d USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino said, \u201cMy reaction is like everyone that really loves that sport and trusts the ethic[s] and integrity. We celebrate that decision,\u201d USMNT F Christian Pulisic added, \u201cIt just feels right. If you look at the foul, it\u2019s zero intent\u201d (L.A. TIMES, 7\/5<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Norway manager Stale Solbakken said, \u201cThat is a big mistake by FIFA, I think it is not a great conclusion that he has got a red card and the VAR concluded it was a red card, he was sent off, that means you are suspended for one game and I think what is really bad about that situation is it will be only United States now.\u201d Solbakken: \u201cWhat about the next red card? Is there going to be something that takes that card away. … For the United States, that will always hang in the balance if they win\u201d (London INDEPENDENT, 7\/6<\/a>). <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The \u201csudden reversal\u201d of USMNT F Folarin Balogun\u2018s red card suspension \u201cimmediately touched off a furor about political…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":784034,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82,13009],"class_list":["post-784033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports","tag-world-cup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=784033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/784034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=784033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=784033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=784033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}