FIFA cleared U.S. men’s national team striker Folarin Balogun to take the field against Belgium in Monday’s World Cup round-of-16 match after suspending his automatic one-game ban on Sunday. The decision followed a phone call from U.S. President Donald Trump to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, in which Trump urged the governing body to reconsider the red card Balogun received.
The move triggered a wave of criticism from football organizations and coaches across the globe. Here is a roundup of the reactions:
UEFA
Europe’s governing body for football issued a strongly worded statement, saying the move “crossed a red line.” UEFA argued that a one-match automatic suspension following a red card is not optional and does not need a formal ruling to take effect. “It is a principle embedded in regulations, which cannot be made subject to exceptions, let alone in the middle of a tournament where several other players have been in the same situation and regularly served their suspension,” the statement read. UEFA warned that the decision puts the integrity of the game at risk and sets a troubling precedent for similar situations still to come in the tournament.
Royal Belgian Football Association
Belgium’s football federation acknowledged that FIFA cited Article 27 of its Disciplinary Code, which allows the FIFA Disciplinary Committee to place a previously imposed sanction on hold. However, the federation pointed to Article 66.4 of the same code, which states that a red card automatically results in a one-game suspension — a rule that had been consistently applied to every other red card issued during this World Cup.
German Football Association President Bernd Neuendorf
The head of Germany’s football federation called on FIFA to quickly address the situation publicly. “FIFA should now issue a prompt statement regarding reports that the decision to overturn the red card shown to the American player Folarin Balogun was preceded by a telephone call between US President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino,” Neuendorf said. He added that any impression of political interference in sport must be “dispelled swiftly and conclusively,” warning that both FIFA’s credibility and the competition’s integrity are on the line.
Belgium Coach Rudi Garcia
The Belgian national team’s head coach expressed disbelief with a touch of sarcasm. “I didn’t know that at the FIFA World Cup 5 July is now 1 April, and that is April Fool’s,” Garcia said. “We are not defending the national team or the federation, we’re defending football.”
England Manager Thomas Tuchel
England’s manager questioned the consistency of the ruling. While acknowledging his own view that it was not a red card to begin with, Tuchel said the process raised serious concerns. “Who overturns this decision then and when? And on what grounds? And… How far does this go now? So, it’s just strange for me. We just want to have consistency in the decisions,” he said.
Norway Coach Stale Solbakken
Norway’s head coach called it a significant error by FIFA and expressed sympathy for the United States. “That’s a big mistake by FIFA,” Solbakken said, noting that the VAR review had confirmed the red card and that Balogun should have served the standard suspension. He also warned that the controversy could overshadow any U.S. victory going forward. “If they beat Belgium, they will always have that extra thing about it… It’s a bad decision that will hurt the World Cup,” he said.
