‘It absolutely stinks’: Football world erupts over Donald Trump’s role in FIFA Balogun red card spin

Referee Raphael Claus shows a red card to USA’s Folarin Balogun (R). (AP photo) FIFA’s unprecedented decision to suspend Folarin Balogun’s automatic one-match ban has fueled fierce debate at the 2026 World Cup and drawn criticism from rival teams and coaches, although the United States welcomed the move ahead of their round of 16 clash against Belgium.Controversy intensified after US President Donald Trump publicly thanked FIFA for reversing what he described as a “great injustice”, while Belgium, Norway and England questioned the implications of the decision for the integrity of the tournament.Balogun, the United States’ top scorer with three goals, was shown a straight red card in the Americans’ 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina after grabbing Tarik Muharemovic’s ankle. The dismissal initially prompted an automatic one-match ban before FIFA intervened to get the forward into Monday’s knockout game.

Belgium leads against FIFA decision

The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) reacted angrily to FIFA’s decision, saying it was “surprised” by the governing body’s move.Belgium coach Rudi Garcia scoffed at the timing of the announcement.“I didn’t know that in the FIFA offices, the fifth of July is the first of April in Europe,” Garcia said through a translator. “The Belgian federation does not defend itself, it does not protect 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.”The Belgian federation also confirmed it was exploring its legal options.“In order to protect the legitimate rights of all teams involved and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both at this FIFA World Cup and at future editions of the tournament, the RBFA is examining all potential options,” it said in a statement.Garcia declined to comment when asked whether Belgium would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport or whether Trump’s intervention affected FIFA’s decision.

Tuchel and Solbakken question precedent

England manager Thomas Tuchel also expressed concern about the wider implications of FIFA’s decision.“Now we can debate endlessly: I think it’s not a yellow card,” Tuchel said. “Where does it end? Where does it end?”Norway coach Ståle Solbakken was even more critical, warning that the decision could cause confusion for future disciplinary decisions.“What about another red card? What happens after that?” asked Solbakken. “Is there going to be a committee somewhere that takes that card away? It’s a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad decision that will hurt the World Cup.”

Neville, Rooney and Henry join the growing resistance

Gary Neville: “It absolutely stinks. I didn’t actually think it was a red card. There should be a review process in place. But if there’s no process to overturn it and then somehow FIFA decides out of the blue to basically let the player play, the rules should be the same for everyone. If I were Belgium, I’d be absolutely furious.”Wayne Rooney: “I think it’s an absolute disgrace. Infantino should be ashamed of himself. This is about the sportsmanship of the game. If you’re against the USA, you’d be absolutely furious.”Micah Richards: “It’s an absolute farce. To cut it for a year is a mockery of the whole tournament. This is all about keeping the big stars in the competition.” Thierry Henry: “I don’t think it was the right decision. It was the right decision, but why so late? If you’re Belgium and you’re ready for the game, it changes everything.”

The US defends the decision because Trump and Pochettino support FIFA

The ruling received strong support from the American camp.According to an AP report, Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino after the game in Bosnia and asked the governing body to review Balogun’s appeal.After FIFA’s announcement, Trump posted: “Thank you FIFA for doing the right thing and reversing a great injustice!”United States coach Mauricio Pochettino insisted his side had already been punished enough.“Against Bosnia and Herzegovina we were punished enough to play with 10 men (for) 30 minutes in a decision that was completely unfair,” he said.Pochettino also welcomed Trump’s involvement.“I came from a culture, Argentina or Europe, that football, soccer is a religion, more than a religion,” he said. “If we keep going, we’ll keep going, tomorrow maybe one more step, you’ll see that this sport is magical, that this sport is amazing, it’s so powerful, it brings people together, it brings a country together like us.”

How FIFA lifted the suspension

FIFA informed the U.S. Soccer Federation of its decision via its official portal at 10:31 a.m. EDT, before announcing that Balogun’s suspension had been postponed under Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.“The implementation of match suspensions is suspended for a trial period of one year,” FIFA said. “If Folarin Balogun commits another violation of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension will be lifted and the penalty enforced without prejudice to any additional penalty imposed for the new violation.”The governing body said the decision was based on Article 27, which says: “The judicial authority may decide to suspend the execution of the disciplinary measure in whole or in part.”He further adds: “By postponing the execution of the sanction, the judicial authority subjects the sanctioned person to a probationary period of one to four years.”The move appeared to be the first time since the 1962 FIFA World Cup that a player sent off during the tournament avoided automatic suspension, ensuring that Balogun will be available when the United States attempt to reach the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 2002.