It looks as if Folarin Balogun will be cleared to play for the USMNT against Belgium in their Round of 16 World Cup tie, following the rejection of the Belgian appeal. Balogun’s eligibility is one of the biggest stories at the World Cup, and on Monday, US President Donald Trump confirmed he had intervened in the matter.

Balogun was due to be banned for the clash in Seattle after being sent off during their win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the prior round, serving the obligatory one-game ban. However over the weekend, FIFA announced that they had turned his ban into a suspended sentence, causing uproar. The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) confirmed they had appealed the decision, but that has been turned down by FIFA. Earlier in the day, Trump confirmed he had spoken to FIFA about lifting Balogun’s ban.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino defends decision

Ahead of the decision to reject the Belgian appeal, FIFA President Gianni Infantino defended the call, and seemed to imply that he had not been involved in the matter.

“I have seen the public comments regarding the decision of the independent Fifa Disciplinary Committee related to the suspension of Folarin Balogun, and I would like to reiterate a fundamental principle of Fifa’s governance.

“Fifa’s judicial bodies are independent. They operate autonomously, apply the Fifa Disciplinary Code, and decide cases based on the applicable regulations and the specific facts before them. Their independence is essential to the credibility and integrity of football, and this must always be respected,” he published on social media.

“Yes, I regularly discuss matters related to the Fifa World Cup with the President of the United States, and on this matter, I did receive a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football stakeholders and business executives from around the world on many different issues. During our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving Fifa’s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies. That is how Fifa’s system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold.”

FIFA President Gianni Infantino:

“I have seen the public comments regarding the decision of the independent FIFA Disciplinary Committee related to the suspension of Folarin Balogun, and I would like to reiterate a fundamental principle of FIFA’s governance.

“FIFA’s judicial… pic.twitter.com/FzeWuMQIXf

— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) July 6, 2026

“I read the decisions of the Fifa Disciplinary Committee when they are issued. Sometimes I am surprised by them. Sometimes I agree with them, and sometimes I disagree. What I always do, however, is respect those decisions and the autonomy of the bodies that make them. Whether we personally like a decision or not is irrelevant. Respect for independent institutions and the rule of law is what protects the integrity of our competitions and the credibility of Fifa at all times.”

Belgium inform US Soccer of intended complaint

As reported by The Guardian, the RBFA have informed US Soccer of their intention to file a complaint against them if Balogun takes to the field. They will claim that the USMNT have fielded an ineligible player if he does play, detailing that they are yet to be given any explanation as to why Balogun’s ban has been suspended. If the Belgian FA were successful in their complaint, then the USMNT would be awarded a 3-0 defeat and eliminated from the tournament. Given FIFA’s behaviour so far though, it seems there is a fair chance of escaping punishment.

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President of the United States Donald Trump has confirmed that he contacted FIFA over the decision to suspend Folarin Balogun for one game following his red card. FIFA announced, to widespread surrpise, that Balogun’s one-game ban had been converted into a suspended sentence, going against protocol.

The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA)  had announced that it would appeal the decision to suspend Balogun’s ban, which FIFA are yet to explain. The decision was welcomed by USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino, while Belgium Rudi Garcia was astounded by the decision.

Trump confirms conversations with FIFA to change Balogun call

On Monday, Trump confirmed in a White House address that he had spoken to FIFA about the decision to suspend Balogun.

“I saw the play. And I’m a person that loves sports and was a good athlete. I understand sports really well, really well. And that wasn’t a foul. That wasn’t even an infraction. That was two guys running full speed that happened to crash into each other. And this referee, who is a little bit suspect … I don’t like to create controversy, but very suspect. He made a call that nobody could believe. You know, even people on the other side, they said, ‘oh, we got lucky’. Wow. That’s very interesting,” The Guardian quote.

“And he [Balogun] is our best player, or one of our best players, a very vital player. And he gave him a red card. I didn’t know what that meant. I didn’t think it meant much. Then I started hearing that that means he can’t play in the next game. I said, boy, that’s a big, you know, if it happened to another player, it would have been unfair. But when they take your best player, or just about, and they say you can’t play, that’s very unfair. That’s you know, it’s one thing to penalise somebody for the game, but how do you penalise them for a game that hasn’t been played yet? It’s very unfair. You can’t do that.”

Before Trump took to the lectern, Senator Ted Cruz had thanked Trump for ‘sorting out’ the red card.

“So yes, I asked for a review by Fifa. I spoke to a man who’s highly respected and by the way, whose level of respect has gone up tenfold. And he was good before this started. But, you know, he really pushed it in this country.”

Almost unprecedented in World Cup history

There is one previous precedent of a player being sent off and playing the next game in the World Cup, with Brazilian star Garrincha featuring in the 1962 World Cup after being sent off. However that was before the implementation of mandatory one game suspensions, with Garrincha being cleared to play by the authorities at the time.

That said, the Balogun decision will go down in history. FIFA have denied interference from Trump, but his comments would appear to meet the conditions for the suspension of the US Football Federation due to political interference.

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