{"id":362015,"date":"2026-07-06T19:34:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T14:04:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=362015"},"modified":"2026-07-06T19:34:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T14:04:06","slug":"unjustified-fifa-under-fire-for-revoking-u-s-red-card-after-trump-call-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/07\/06\/unjustified-fifa-under-fire-for-revoking-u-s-red-card-after-trump-call-national\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Unjustified\u2019: FIFA under fire for revoking U.S. red card after Trump call – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

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European soccer body UEFA criticized FIFA for an \u201cincomprehensible and unjustifiable decision\u201d\u00a0to let United States forward\u00a0Folarin Balogun play on the\u00a0World Cup\u00a0against Belgium on Monday despite a red card in his previous game.<\/p>\n

UEFA said in a press release FIFA \u201ccrossed a red line\u201d with its decision to not implement Balogun\u2019s mandatory one-game ban, after the world soccer body got here under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

FIFA\u2019s ruling Sunday \u2014 to defer Balogun\u2019s ban for one yr of probation \u2014 shockingly deviated from soccer\u2019s traditional rule of law and drew stinging criticism globally including from former World Cup stars and coaches at this tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a foul, bad, bad, bad, bad decision that may hurt the World Cup,\u201d Norway coach St\u00e5le Solbakken said Sunday after his team beat Brazil to achieve the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n

UEFA, whose member federations include Belgium, insisted: \u201cSometimes rules are open to interpretation. On this case not.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen the knowledge of rules is not any longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the sport is at stake and the credibility of a contest is undermined,\u201d said the European soccer body, which has often clashed with FIFA President Gianni Infantino during his decade in power.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision,\u201d said UEFA, where Infantino was its CEO-like general secretary from 2009 until being elected to steer FIFA in February 2016.<\/p>\n

The Belgian soccer federation was preparing an appeal in Seattle within the early hours of Monday to challenge the Balogun ruling before a FIFA-appointed appeals judge. The round of 16 game against the U.S. is resulting from kick off at 5 p.m. local time.<\/p>\n

Balogun was sent off directly for planting his cleated foot on the ankle of Bosnia-Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic during a 2-0 win for the U.S. within the round of 32 last Wednesday.<\/p>\n

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That sort of challenge has been a routine red card all season in competitions worldwide, and Balogun could have expected a two-game ban for serious foul play.<\/p>\n

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Still, similar challenges by star players have gone unpunished at this World Cup \u2014 by Lionel Messi for Argentina against Algeria and Morocco\u2019s Achraf Hakimi vs. Brazil. Bernardo Silva of Portugal got only a yellow card against Congo.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe a yellow card would have been fair,\u201d\u00a0Balogun later suggested.<\/p>\n

This World Cup has been remarkable for FIFA seeming to\u00a0rewrite the norms of disciplinary motion\u00a0even before the tournament began.<\/p>\n

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