Did Donald Trump ask FIFA to review Folarin Balogun red card? Examining claims around USMNT striker’s World Cup ban
Just one day before the U.S. was slated to meet Belgium in the 2026 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, the co-hosts received some exciting news.
Striker Folarin Balogun, who leads the team with three goals this tournament, will be available to play after his one-match ban for his red card in the last game was suspended by FIFA’s disciplinary committee. Balogun was sent off for a tackle on Bosnia and Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic, which saw his studs catch the opponent on the top of the ankle, turning it painfully.
With no possible appeal process written into FIFA’s World Cup regulations, U.S. Soccer believed it would be forced to accept the decision, even if it came with significant controversy. However, it would eventually find out that FIFA had decided to reverse the ban, allowing Balogun to play in Monday’s match.
The Sporting News explains how that decision came to be, and if the U.S. president — who has been extremely close with FIFA president Gianni Infantino in recent years — had anything to do with it.
MORE: Why FIFA chose to suspend Folarin Balogun’s ban
Did Donald Trump ask FIFA to review Folarin Balogun red card?
First reported by Ben Jacobs of GiveMeSport and Adam Crafton of The Athletic, the White House apparently phoned FIFA to discuss the suspension for Folarin Balogun in the USA vs. Belgium match.
«The White House made a direct call to FIFA to ask Gianni Infantino to review Folarin Balogun’s red card,» Jacobs posted on social media following FIFA’s decision to suspend Balogun’s ban.
«FIFA sources insist White House influence could not affect the decision due to the powers contained in Article 27 and the independent nature of the disciplinary panel,» Jacobs continued.
Trump also posted on his own platform, Truth Social, that he was pleased with the decision. «Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing this great injustice!» Trump said.
On Monday, Trump told reporters he asked Infantino to review the red card, which he called a «horrible» decision by the referee.
«I asked for a review,» Trump said, later adding, «I didn’t tell him what to do, I can’t tell him what to do.»
WATCH: President Trump speaks out about his call with the head of FIFA regarding Flo Balogun’s red card. pic.twitter.com/3G6LoMNBpv
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) July 6, 2026
Later, on Monday, Trump himself confirmed that he spoke with FIFA president Gianni Infantino about the incident.
What did Donald Trump say to FIFA?
While the reports vary about what was said on the phone call between Trump and Infantino, the U.S. president himself claimed that the two spoke about the Balogun red card.
Trump stated that before the call, «I didn’t know what the hell a red card was.»
He says that he asked Infantino why Balogun was suspended. When he was informed of the red card and the requisite one-game ban, Trump stated that he requested that FIFA reverse the decision.
«All I did was ask for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul,» he told the media. «I think it would have been terrible if they wouldn’t allow, you know, a top player—maybe the best, maybe among the best players on the team—to play. I think it would have had a big stain.»
Upon hearing that Balogun’s ban had been suspended and he was eligible to play against Belgium, Trump said he was pleased. «I think they made a really brilliant decision. I think the referee’s call was horrible, and nobody talks about that. They talk about the red card like it’s fine. Nobody talks about the referee’s decision to issue the red card.»
Why was Folarin Balogun’s ban suspended?
There is no official reason for Balogun’s one-match ban being suspended by the FIFA disciplinary committee.
There has been speculation that Balogun’s ban may have been suspended due to either a disagreement with the decision to issue him a red card, or issues with the VAR process by which the decision to recommend a red-card review was issued.
However, without official confirmation, there is no certainty that any of that was part of the decision-making process, leaving room for rampant speculation about other ulterior motives.
The Sporting News issued a request to FIFA for comment on this, but has not yet received a response.
What has FIFA said about the Folarin Balogun decision?
FIFA only issued a surface-level statement explaining the decision to suspend Balogun’s one-game ban. The statement read:
«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.»
In this statement, FIFA does not give any viable reason for suspending Balogun’s ban, nor does it make any inference on the referee’s decision to issue him a red card in the first place.
Article 27 of the FIFA disciplinary code reads:
«The judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure.
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«If the person benefiting from a suspended sanction commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked by the judicial body and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.»
Reaction to Folarin Balogun FIFA decision
U.S. Soccer ‘pleased’ with decision
The U.S. men’s national team responded to the FIFA decision with excitement that Balogun is now available to participate in the match against Belgium.
U.S. Soccer released a statement, saying: «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.»
Belgian FA ‘astonished’, considers taking action
Belgium’s football association issued a scathing response to the decision and suggested it could take some course of action.
It said: «The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) is astonished by FIFA’s decision to declare suspended United States player Folarin Balogun eligible to play in the USA–Belgium match on Monday, 6 July at 5:00 p.m. (Seattle time).
«FIFA bases its decision on Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. This provision states that the FIFA Disciplinary Committee may decide to suspend the enforcement of a previously imposed disciplinary sanction.
«However, Article 66.4 of the same FIFA Disciplinary Code clearly provides that a red card (sending-off) automatically results in a suspension for the team’s next match, as has been the case for all previous red cards issued during this FIFA World Cup.
«Furthermore, and irrespective of the above, the decision is in direct contradiction with the provisions of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Competition Regulations, as set out in Article 10.5:
‘»If a player or team official is sent off as a result of a direct or indirect red card (second caution), they will automatically be suspended from their team’s subsequent match. In addition, further sanctions may be imposed.»‘
«The automatic nature of such a suspension was also explicitly reaffirmed in FIFA World Cup 2026 Circular No. 16, which was distributed to all participating member associations on 12 May 2026.
«The same rule is reiterated at every FIFA World Cup 2026 Match Coordination Meeting prior to each match and is included in all FIFA World Cup 2026 workshop presentations.
«In order to safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams 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 investigating all potential options.»
In a subsequent statement on the morning of Monday July 6, the Belgian FA went one step further, indicating that they had only reached out to FIFA in the hopes of gathering more information, and FIFA had taken that to mean they had requested an appeal be opened, which concerned Belgium that they were being set up to fail in the interest of FIFA’s optics.
Chris Richards, Christian Pulisic respond
Defender Chris Richards, meanwhile, was skeptical at first but allowed himself to feel excited once it was confirmed. «I think a lot of us thought it was AI at first, but I think we’re really excited. We found out through social media. I thought it was AI and stuff. There’s a lot of people posting a lot of stuff. So, we weren’t sure if it was true or not.
«We were lit on the bus regardless. We had our speaker in the back, so we were just listening to music. Then one person said something, another person said another thing, and nobody wanted to confirm it. So, like I said, pretty much right when we got here (was) when we found out that it was true.»
USMNT star winger Christian Pulisic said he felt the decision was justified. «Obviously, for us it gives us a boost. I mean, if you look at the foul, it was just — it’s zero intent at all. I felt like there was much worse ones that went on at this tournament.»
Media incredulous as France considers Olise appeal
While the reaction within the United States has been one of relief and jubilation, the response outside the country has been skeptical at best.
UK-based CBS reporter James Benge, for example, called it a «scandalous decision» which came «without a fig leaf of justification.»
According to L’Equipe, France’s federation is considering asking FIFA to annul the yellow card issued to Michael Olise in the 1-0 win over Paraguay on July 4. Olise was booked for an altercation with Matias Galarza, who dropped to the turf despite there being no physical contact with the France star. Olise is now at risk of being banned for the semifinals should he receive a yellow card in the quarterfinal.
Norway coach Solbakken slams ‘big mistake’
Speaking after his side’s famous 2-1 win over Brazil, Norway head coach Stale Solbakken said: «It is a big mistake by FIFA. It is not a great conclusion. He got a red card and the VAR concluded that it was a red card. That means you are suspended for one game.
«I think what is really bad about that situation is, if the USA beat Belgium, they will always have that extra thing about it.
«The Belgians will be furious. What about the next red card? What happens there? Will some committee take it away? It’s a bad, bad, bad, bad decision that will hurt the World Cup and the United States.»
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