FIFA overturns Folarin Balogun ban after Donald Trump personally intervenes
Fifa will allow Folarin Balogun, the star striker of the US men’s national team, to play its knockout World Cup match against Belgium on Monday after a complaint from Donald Trump to football’s governing body.
As reported by FT The US president called Fifa chief Gianni Infantino last week to protest against a one-game ban imposed on Balogun after he was given a red card during the US’s winning match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to a person familiar with the matter.
On Sunday, Fifa abruptly reversed that decision, saying that its disciplinary committee had opted to waive Balogun’s ban for one year, to Trump’s delight.
“Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!,” the US president posted on his Truth Social account.
In a brief statement, Fifa cited Article 27 of its disciplinary rule book, which states that its judicial body “may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure”. However, it offered no further explanation of the decision.
The Belgian football association said it was “astonished” by Fifa’s decision, describing it as a “direct contradiction” of the World Cup rule book.
It said it was “investigating all potential options” in order to “safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport”.
Mauricio Pochettino, the US head coach, said he “celebrated” Fifa’s decision, adding that his team had been “punished enough” by being forced to play for more than half an hour with 10 men against Bosnia after Balogun was sent off.
“It’s a fair decision because it should never have been a red card,” he said at a press conference on Sunday. “I think 99.9 per cent of people in football have said it was an unfair punishment.”
The red card against Balogun, after he fouled an opponent, had also triggered the ire of Marco Rubio, the secretary of state.
“They got screwed with that red card. There needs to be an appeal process for that,” Rubio told reporters, adding that it was “probably too late” for any change.
A US official said that, in the call with Infantino, Trump “wanted to better understand the reason why a red card was given and why there was a suspension”. The US official stressed that the “appeal process is run by an independent board” and that the US government provided “additional evidence that was used in the appeal process”.
“Ultimately the correct and proper outcome was achieved,” the US official said.
Although highly unusual, Fifa has previously intervened in player suspensions. Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo was banned for three matches during the World Cup qualifiers in late 2025 after being shown a red card against Ireland.
However, Fifa later cleared Ronaldo, the most followed man on social media, to return to the pitch after missing just one match, meaning he was able to play in Portugal’s opening game of the World Cup.
Fifa’s rule book often leaves room for wide interpretation. In the run-up to last year’s Club World Cup, Fifa gave a spot in the new 32-team tournament to Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, even though the team did not win the US championship. Instead, Fifa said its decision was based on the number of matches won during the domestic season.
Balogun, who joined Monaco from Arsenal in 2023 for a fee of around €40mn, has been a key player in Pochettino’s energetic young side. He scored twice and was named player of the match in the team’s 4-1 win against Paraguay, and scored again in the 2-0 win over Bosnia before his sending off.
World Affairs Correspondent
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