{"id":677704,"date":"2026-07-07T01:54:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T01:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/677704\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T01:54:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T01:54:09","slug":"if-you-win-its-a-stain-americans-react-to-fifa-balogun-controversy-world-cup-2026-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/677704\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018If you win, it\u2019s a stain\u2019: Americans react to FIFA-Balogun controversy | World Cup 2026 News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Washington, DC, United States \u2013 FIFA\u2019s decision to suspend the one-match ban on the USA\u2019s Folarin Balogun<\/a>, allowing the team\u2019s leading goal scorer to play in their crucial last-16 World Cup match against Belgium, has stirred controversy hours ahead of the game.<\/p>\n

The row and ensuing uproar deepened on Monday when US President Donald Trump confirmed that he had asked FIFA to review its decision against Balogun, with world football\u2019s governing body ultimately making a U-turn on the player\u2019s suspension from the crucial fixture.<\/p>\n

Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list<\/p>\n

Was FIFA\u2019s decision the result of an unfair power move from Trump, or was it a warranted correction to a red card that should not have been issued in the first place?<\/p>\n

It depends on who you ask.<\/p>\n

Football fans of the cohost nation appear to be divided.<\/p>\n

While there is near consensus that the red card Balogun received against Bosnia and Herzegovina was harsh, not everyone agrees with Trump\u2019s intervention.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s bull****,\u201d Cesar Espino, who was watching the Spain vs Portugal round-of-16 match at a pub near downtown Washington, DC, told Al Jazeera hours ahead of kickoff in the USA vs Belgium game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like if you win, it\u2019s a stain, because Balogun is one of our top players.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the decision will make the USA \u201cmore unlikeable\u201d, adding to the list of controversies for the host nation, including travel bans<\/a> and the restrictions against the Iranian team<\/a> during the group stage.<\/p>\n

But 23-year-old Oscar Ramirez argued that the issue is more nuanced than the USA gaining an unfair advantage \u201cbecause of the nature of the red card\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think most people, including myself, believe the red card was unfair; it was unjust,\u201d Ramirez said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you\u2019ll have some people who will be like, we should keep the rules no matter what. And you\u2019ll have some people who will be like, that card shouldn\u2019t have happened in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n

The USA fan admitted jokingly that he is biased, so he supports the decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m American, and I want our best chances. And without him, we don\u2019t have a good chance,\u201d Ramirez said.<\/p>\n

FIFA responds<\/p>\n

Balogun, who has scored three goals in the tournament so far, received the red card for a studs-up contact near the ankle of Bosnia\u2019s Tarik Muharemovic.<\/p>\n

The USA striker was looking at the ball, so the incident appeared unintentional. Nonetheless, Balogun was sent off after an on-field VAR review, triggering an at-least one-match suspension.<\/p>\n

A FIFA board subsequently suspended the penalty without providing an explanation.<\/p>\n

Trump, who enjoys close relations with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, confirmed on Monday that he had requested a review of the suspension.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I did \u2013 I asked for a review because I didn\u2019t think it was a foul,\u201d Trump said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He also suggested that the US had conducted research on the referee who issued the card, calling the official \u201cvery suspect\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you like, I can provide you with the past,\u201d he told reporters.<\/p>\n

FIFA has insisted that the decision was made by a judicial panel that operates independently, with Infantino denying that his conversation with Trump may have influenced the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring our conversation, I 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 the FIFA president said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is how FIFA\u2019s system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite that assertion, US Senator Ted Cruz<\/a> thanked Trump earlier for \u201cgetting rid of that ridiculous red card\u201d.<\/p>\n

The controversy has infuriated Belgian football officials. But in the US, some politicians and commentators lauded Trump for his intervention.<\/p>\n

\u201cI admit that I\u2019m not the biggest soccer fan, but I\u2019m glad President Trump urged FIFA to do the right thing. Good for President Trump, good for Folarin Balogun, good for the USA,\u201d Republican Senator Tom Cotton wrote on X.<\/p>\n

Fox Sports analyst Alexi Lalas, meanwhile, said that lifting Balogun\u2019s suspension was surprising but welcome news.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened here is America stood up for itself,\u201d Lalas, a former USA player, told Fox News.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe powers that be when it comes to the United States Soccer Federation did what they needed to do within the rules and regulations that exist in order to give ourselves the best possible chance of being successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamdani invokes Mourinho<\/p>\n

But CBS Sports commentator Nico Cantor said the episode sets a \u201cdangerous precedent\u201d that undermines the authority of the referees making decisions based on their interpretations of the rules.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor as much as I believe Balogun didn\u2019t deserve the red, it\u2019s an interpretable decision,\u201d he wrote on X.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything can now be questioned after the fact. And it\u2019s up to FIFA\u2019s \u2018judicial body\u2019 \u2013 whoever that is, wherever they are \u2013 to call\u2026 critical decisions as they see fit.\u201d<\/p>\n

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the red card \u201ccruel\u201d but refused to comment on FIFA\u2019s decision to suspend the suspension.<\/p>\n

Instead, he posted a GIF of Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho<\/a> saying, \u201cI prefer not to speak. If I speak \u2013 big trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back in Washington, DC, USA fan Lucas Faria said it was \u201ccrazy\u201d that the suspension was overturned, but he added that the decision is unlikely to derail trust in the World Cup as it is already loaded with controversy.<\/p>\n

Faria told Al Jazeera that the tournament has been a Trump-Infantino show.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tickets have been outrageous. It\u2019s been an outrageous tournament so far. This is just an obvious thing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Faria added, however, that the USA team should not be judged for FIFA\u2019s decisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not on them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Washington, DC, United States \u2013 FIFA\u2019s decision to suspend the one-match ban on the USA\u2019s Folarin Balogun, allowing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":677705,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[141,218,49,50,217,51,47,52,48,158,3544,58033],"class_list":["post-677704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-donald-trump","tag-football","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-sport","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-united-states","tag-us-canada","tag-world-cup-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=677704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/677705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=677704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=677704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=677704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}