FIFA suspends – FIFA has suspended the one-match ban imposed on Folarin Balogun after his red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 1, making him available for the USMNT’s World Cup round of 16 clash with Belgium on Monday night. The decision follows Donald Trump’s Sund
Folarin Balogun’s red card cost the USMNT a match at first. Then, less than a week later, FIFA stepped in and turned it back—right as the World Cup round of 16 arrives.
FIFA decided to suspend the one-game ban given to the 25-year-old striker. allowing him to be available for the USA’s World Cup clash against Belgium on Monday night in Seattle. The intervention came on Sunday morning, reversing the mandatory one-match suspension that stemmed from his red card on July 1.
Balogun was sent off during the Americans’ 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina. The dismissal was triggered by a challenge on defender Tarik Muharemovic. While the tackle initially looked innocuous, replays indicated that Balogun did scrape his cleats down Muharemovic’s leg. Even so. the decision to send the forward off sparked widespread fury online. with many fans calling for the suspension to be overturned.
Now the USMNT get the outcome they were pushing for—just days before they meet Belgium.
Donald Trump was among those celebrating. On Truth Social on Sunday morning, he wrote: “Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right and reversing a great injustice!”
FIFA’s own explanation came in the form of a disciplinary-code mechanism. In a statement. FIFA said: “In line with article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. the implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year. If Folarin Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period. the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.”.
The USMNT responded by accepting the ruling. In their statement. they said: “We accept the decision of the Disciplinary Committee and are pleased that Folarin Balogun is eligible to compete tomorrow. Our full attention is focused on the Round of 16 match against Belgium in Seattle. and we look forward to the continued support of our amazing fans.”.
The timing still carried a jolt for the team. The Daily Mail understands the USMNT were informed of the decision on Sunday morning, before Balogun was told at a team meeting shortly afterwards.
Balogun had already spoken about the moment that led to his dismissal in the days after the Bosnia win. He insisted it was unintentional and that he believed a different outcome would have been fair. On Friday, he told reporters: “First and foremost, it was totally unintentional, which I’m sure a lot of people know. But. you know. I think the choice of the referee was. of course. his choice. but I don’t think it was the correct call. ‘I think a yellow card would have been fair due to it not being intentional. There’s not many places I can place my foot in such a scenario. But it’s happened, and it’s something that I have to accept and move forward from.’”.
Under Article 10.5 of FIFA’s tournament regulations. the dismissal automatically carries a mandatory one-game suspension—so the reversal could only happen through a specific route. FIFA officials had previously confirmed that national teams are prohibited from formally appealing red cards or the subsequent disciplinary sanctions. This time. the judicial committee used a rare provision in Article 27 that allows it to suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure fully or partially.
The same probationary approach has been used before. FIFA recently applied the exact same regulation to Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of the tournament. Ronaldo had initially faced a ban after a violent conduct dismissal in a World Cup qualifying match against the Republic of Ireland in November 2025. He was sent off after catching defender Dara O’Shea with a trailing elbow during a 2-0 defeat in Dublin. After serving a one-game suspension during Portugal’s 9-1 victory over Armenia. FIFA intervened again—suspending the final two matches of the ban under a one-year probation period. That cleared Ronaldo to lead Portugal from the start of the current tournament.
For the USA, the impact is immediate. With Balogun now eligible for selection, his availability shifts the team’s planning for a Monday night clash in Seattle—right after a decision that looked final stopped being so.
Folarin Balogun USA vs Belgium World Cup round of 16 FIFA disciplinary code red card ban suspended Donald Trump Gianni Infantino Tarik Muharemovic Seattle