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FIFA’s clearance for Folarin Balogun to play for the United States against Belgium one day before the World Cup qualifying match was always going to send the soccer world into hysterics.
The situation was practically designed for a collapse of international soccer, with a controversial red card, a suspended one-match suspension, President Donald Trump’s alleged involvement and the United States getting its top scorer back just in time.
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But while the reaction has been loud, the central claim of some critics – that FIFA just invented a new loophole for the Americans – is not entirely correct.
Folarin Balogun of the USA celebrates scoring his first goal during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Santa Clara, California. (Phil Noble/Reuters via Imagn Images)
Balogun was initially expected to miss Monday’s round of 16 match after receiving a red card in the Americans’ victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina. The card came after a VAR review determined that Balogun had stepped on the ankle of Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic.
The call was controversial from the beginning. American coach Mauricio Pochettino said it was unfair and midfielder Weston McKennie questioned the decision after the match.
“Obviously the referee made the decision he made, but I think it’s questionable,” McKennie said. “I think there have been a lot of other plays like that throughout the tournament against other players that weren’t given any cards. It’s disappointing.”
Balogun later said he thought a yellow card “would have been fair”.
Referee Raphael Claus of Brazil shows a red card to American Folarin Balogun, right, during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between the United States and Bosnia in Santa Clara, California, near San Francisco, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Still, under FIFA rules, a red card usually results in an automatic one-match suspension. That’s why Balogun was expected to be unavailable against Belgium.
Then FIFA intervened.
TRUMP CALLED FIFA PRESIDENT TO REVIEW FOLARIN BALOGUN’S RED CARD BEFORE USA-BELGIUM MATCH, SOURCE SAYS
The governing body suspended the implementation of Balogun’s automatic suspension for a one-year probationary period, meaning he is eligible to play on Monday night. If Balogun receives another red card during that probationary period, the suspended sanction can be applied along with any additional punishment.
Europe, naturally, handled this decision with great composure and perspective.
It’s a joke.
The Belgian federation said it was “astonished”. UEFA claimed that FIFA had “crossed a red line”. Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter wrote: “Red cards are not overturned by political phone calls. They are overturned by rules, tests and independent bodies.”
That last part sounds good. It also omits the inconvenient detail that FIFA relied on a real rule in its disciplinary code.
Former FIFA President Joseph “Sepp” Blatter speaks about the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Brazil, during a press conference at the Geneva Press Club, in Geneva, Switzerland. (AP Photo/Keystone/Salvatore Di Nolfi)
As OutKick previously reported, FIFA cited Article 27, which allows a judicial body to “fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure.” In other words, FIFA did not necessarily erase the red card. It simply suspended enforcement of the automatic ban.
This is where the “unprecedented” argument begins to fall apart. Because FIFA has recently used the same basic mechanism for a much bigger name: Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo received a red card against Ireland in a 2025 World Cup qualifier, which initially put him in danger of missing World Cup matches with Portugal. Instead, FIFA used Article 27 to suspend part of his punishment. Ronaldo served one match in a pre-tournament match, while the remaining part of the suspension was delayed for a probationary period.
So if the argument is that FIFA has never used this disciplinary flexibility to help a star player avoid missing an important World Cup match, that is simply not true.
Of course, the Balogun case is not identical to that of Ronaldo. Ronaldo’s red card came in the qualifying phase and Balogun’s came during the World Cup itself.
But “different” and “unprecedented” are not the same thing.
Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal reacts after the first half during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Group K match between Portugal and Uzbekistan at Houston Stadium in Houston, Texas on June 23, 2026. (Charlotte Wilson/Getty Images)
Ronaldo is the most obvious comparison to Balogun, but FIFA’s suspension rules have not been as rigid as the outrage suggests. Moisés Caicedo of Ecuador and Nicolás Otamendi of Argentina also avoided carrying pending punishments to the World Cup.
While those cases were not the same as Balogun’s Article 27 situation, they do show that FIFA’s disciplinary system is not rigged for the exclusive benefit of the United States.
There is also an older World Cup story that a red card does not automatically cause a player to miss the next match. In the 1962 World Cup, Brazilian star Garrincha was sent off in the semifinal against Chile. Back then, red cards did not automatically lead to suspensions for the next match as they do now. A disciplinary panel reviewed the case and released him with a reprimand, allowing him to play in the final.
Brazil won.
Once again, that does not make the Garrincha case identical to that of Balogun. Soccer’s disciplinary rules have changed dramatically since 1962. But that undermines the idea that a player being sent off and still being available for the next World Cup match is a never-before-seen American conspiracy.
The real issue here is not whether FIFA had a rule available. He did it. The real problem is the optics.
Trump reportedly called FIFA president Gianni Infantino after the match and urged FIFA to review the red card. He later thanked FIFA for “doing the right thing and reversing a great injustice.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino shakes hands with US President Donald Trump as he receives the FIFA Peace Prize during the official draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. (Héctor Vivas – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
That was always going to set European football fans on fire. It is one thing for FIFA to apply a disciplinary provision. Another thing is for the president of the United States to get involved.
The optics are messy. Nobody denies it. But disorderly does not mean illegal or unprecedented.
Even England manager Thomas Tuchel, who questioned where this process could lead, admitted that Balogun’s original decision was not a red card.
“I think that first of all we must make it very clear that it is not a red card. [for Balogun]”Tuchel said.
That’s the part that gets buried under all the outrage. Many people seem to agree that the original call was tough. The United States already played the last 30 minutes against Bosnia and Herzegovina with 10 men because of that. Pochettino said the Americans had been “sufficiently punished” after what he called a “completely unfair” decision.
Now Balogun has returned to Belgium and Europe is furious. Which is maybe understandable, but those are the breaks.
Folarin Balogun of the United States celebrates scoring his team’s third goal during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Group D match against Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium on June 12, 2026. (John Dorton/USSF/Getty Images)
FIFA did not invent Article 27 for the United States. He did not create the idea of suspending disciplinary punishments overnight. And he certainly didn’t wait until Balogun’s red card to discover that his judicial body has discretion in disciplinary cases.
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The Americans got a great opportunity. There is no discussion there. Balogun is the team’s leading scorer in the tournament, and losing him in a knockout match would have been a huge blow.
But if Europe wants to be angry, it should at least be accurately angry.
