FIFA reverses US striker\u2019s suspension amid reports of Trump intervention – Watch on TVNZ+<\/a><\/p>\nTrump called it a \u201chorrible\u201d call and took credit for getting FIFA to review the foul, but said he did not demand an outcome.<\/p>\n
The Belgian Football Association said it informed the US Soccer Federation it was contesting Balogun\u2019s eligibility.<\/p>\n
But FIFA\u2019s appeals committee dismissed Belgium\u2019s legal challenge less than eight hours before scheduled kickoff of the round of 16 match in Seattle. The appellate panel said Belgium had no standing to challenge the decision.<\/p>\n
It was unclear whether Belgium could pursue an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.<\/p>\n
Balogun\u2019s red card was assessed by Brazilian referee Raphael Claus for stepping on an opponent\u2019s ankle last Wednesday during the Americans\u2019 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina, triggering an automatic one-game suspension. Claus did not initially issue a red card but showed it after a video review.<\/p>\n
FIFA\u2019s disciplinary committee on Sunday (local time) provisionally lifted the suspension for one year and fined Balogun $40,000 (NZ$70,150), which the USSF can pay.<\/p>\n
UEFA vs FIFA reignites<\/p>\n
European football officials reacted with outrage.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen 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 UEFA said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case not,\u201d it said. \u201cWhen 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<\/p>\n
UEFA has often clashed with Infantino during his decade in FIFA power.<\/p>\n
Infantino\u2019s predecessor Sepp Blatter, forced from office in 2015 in fallout from corruption scandals, posted today on social media: \u201cRed cards are not overturned by political phone calls. They are overturned by rules, evidence and independent bodies.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Swiss Football Association declared that the \u201ccredibility of the competition depends on clear rules that are applied consistently\u201d.<\/p>\n
Coaches speculated about the implications of the decision going forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about the next red card? What happens then?\u201d Norway coach St\u00e5le Solbakken said. \u201cIs there going to be some committee somewhere that is going to take that card away? It\u2019s a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad decision that will hurt the World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n
England coach Thomas Tuchel wondered whether yellow cards to English defender Declan Rice and French midfielder Michael Olise could be reversed.<\/p>\n
FIFA’s disciplinary committee defended its decision in a statement today.<\/p>\n
\u201cReviewing the legal consequences of red cards in football is nothing new in the modern game,\u201d it said. \u201cIn the majority of top-tier leagues belonging to UEFA-affiliated member associations the overturning of red cards is a common disciplinary measure, yet this has never raised concerns about crossing any `red line.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump’s comments<\/p>\n
![\"FIFA](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/fifa-president-gianni-infantino-right-awards-president-donal-LAWOPNF76FD7XCTWLWU3YRARCU.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, right, awards President Donald Trump with the FIFA Peace Prize during the draw for the 2026 soccer World Cup at the Kennedy Center in Washington, Dec. 5, 2025. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
Trump called the referee\u2019s decision a \u201chorrible\u201d call while admitting he was confused about the rules and punishment surrounding red cards.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t think it was a foul,\u201d Trump said. \u201cI thought it was two great athletes that crashed into each other and got entangled.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also acknowledged calling Infantino.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll I did was ask for a review,\u201d Trump said. \u201cI didn\u2019t say, \u2018You have to do this’.\u201d<\/p>\n
Infantino issued a statement saying: \u201cFIFA\u2019s judicial bodies are independent. They operate autonomously.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA\u2019s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies,\u201d he said of his conversation with Trump.<\/p>\n
Infantino\u2019s relationship with Trump previously sparked concern among football officials. European football leaders walked out of a FIFA Congress in Paraguay last year due to a three-hour delay caused by Infantino arriving late because he was with Trump in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
After Infantino awarded Trump the first FIFA peace prize in December, Norway\u2019s governing body filed a letter supporting an ethics complaint against Infantino that accused him of violating provisions in FIFA\u2019s code of ethics requiring political neutrality.<\/p>\n
Belgium’s legal options<\/p>\n
Belgian officials prepared in Seattle through the night into today to get a hearing with a FIFA-appointed appeals judge, and their eventual defeat might not be the end.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegardless of the sporting outcome of the match,\u201d the Belgian federation said, \u201d[we are] deeply concerned by the way these events have unfolded and will continue, in the hours, days and months ahead, to pursue every available avenue to uphold the fundamental principles of ethics, sporting fairness and the interests of football as a whole\u201d.<\/p>\n
Balogun’s tackle<\/p>\n
Balogun was sent off directly for planting his studded foot on an ankle of defender Tarik Muharemovi\u0107.<\/p>\n
That kind of challenge has been a routine red card all season in competitions worldwide, and Balogun could have expected a two-game ban for serious foul play under the FIFA disciplinary code.<\/p>\n
![\"United](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/bosnia-us-wcup-soccer-SEYNHBZJBJB5VM2HWV7Z6MI6D4.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
United States’ Folarin Balogun (20) puts his foot down on Bosnia’s Tarik Muharemovic (4) for which he received a red card during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between the United States and Bosnia in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
Still, similar challenges by star players have gone unpunished at this World Cup \u2014 by Argentina\u2019s Lionel Messi against Algeria and Morocco\u2019s Achraf Hakimi vs Brazil. Bernardo Silva of Portugal got just a yellow card against Congo.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think a yellow card would have been fair,\u201d Balogun later suggested.<\/p>\n
FIFA’s interventions<\/p>\n
This World Cup has been remarkable for FIFA under Infantino seeming to rewrite the norms of disciplinary action even before the tournament began.<\/p>\n
A pattern of pardons opened FIFA to suggestions of executive intervention in the statutory independence of its judicial bodies, including the disciplinary committee that formally reprieved Balogun.<\/p>\n
Cristiano Ronaldo was cleared to play in Portugal\u2019s opening World Cup game despite getting a red card for serious foul play in a qualifying game against Ireland last November. He struck an opponent with an elbow.<\/p>\n
The morning\u2019s headlines in 90 seconds include wild weather in the South Island, China’s missile testing in the Pacific and Donald Trump’s interference with the FIFA world cup. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n
Ronaldo served his mandatory ban in Portugal\u2019s final qualifying game but he was reprieved from an expected two-game ban because FIFA introduced the idea of probation. An imposed three-game ban was less meaningful as two games were deferred during a one-year probationary period.<\/p>\n
At the opening game on June 11, South Africa\u2019s Themba Zwane got a red card against Mexico for a similar offence to Ronaldo\u2019s and FIFA imposed a three-game ban with no probation. Zwane did not play again at the World Cup.<\/p>\n
Three players sent off in their teams\u2019 qualifying games last year were surprisingly told by FIFA in May they could serve their bans in a future competition instead of at the World Cup, which was the long-standing norm.<\/p>\n
Ecuador midfielder Mois\u00e9s Caicedo, Argentina defender Nicol\u00e1s Otamendi and Qatar defender Tarek Salman all had their bans waived for the World Cup.<\/p>\n
Watch all matches at the World Cup with an event pass on TVNZ+<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Football leaders have questioned the World Cup\u2019s integrity on a chaotic and unprecedented day in the event\u2019s modern…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":513663,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2966,42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-513662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-fifa-world-cup","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=513662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513662\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/513663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=513662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=513662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=513662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}