USA forward Folarin Balogun is free to feature in the team’s pivotal World Cup last-16 clash after FIFA dismissed an appeal from the Belgian FA.
The tournament was plunged into controversy on Sunday when it emerged that Donald Trump had personally contacted FIFA president Gianni Infantino to seek a review of the one-match suspension given to Balogun after his red card in the USA’s July 1 victory over Bosnia.
Shortly after the decision was announced, President Trump, who has developed a close relationship with Infantino, posted: “Thank you to Fifa for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
White House sources confirmed to the Daily Mail that Trump had taken the unusual step of calling Infantino before FIFA’s remarkable move to suspend the ban, with the President later confirming the development himself on Monday.
While Trump and large numbers of USA supporters welcomed the suspension of the one-game punishment, the Belgian FA reacted angrily and quickly lodged an appeal with FIFA after the news became public.
By Monday morning, the outcome was clear, with FIFA confirming that Belgium’s challenge to the decision had been rejected.
The Belgian FA’s appeal against the suspension of Folarin Balogun’s ban has been rejected by FIFA
Balogun, shown being sent off for this challenge, is now available to play against Belgium on Monday
Donald Trump called FIFA chief Gianni Infantino to ask him to suspend the one-match ban
In a statement, the Belgian FA said: ‘The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) has received the decision of the FIFA Appeal Committee, signed by its member Mr Salman Al-Ansari, which declares the RBFA’s case inadmissible and confirms the earlier decision allowing United States player Folarin Balogun to play.
‘To date, the RBFA has still not received any grounds for this decision, nor has it received the information it has been requesting since the start of this procedure id est a copy of the decision and the motivation declaring the player eligible as well as the referee’s report. Which is a breach of FIFA regulations.
They added that: ‘The RBFA has informed the United States Soccer Federation that it contests the eligibility of the player, should the player be listed on the referee’s team sheet. This leaves all further actions open.’
Meanwhile, FIFA released their own statement on the matter, which read: ‘The FIFA Appeal Committee has rendered a request submitted by the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) as inadmissible in relation to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee’s decision to suspend for one year the match suspension imposed on United States national-team player Folarin Balogun following his dismissal for a direct red card during the FIFA World Cup 2026 match between the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina, played on 1 July 2026 at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium.’
‘The chairperson of the FIFA Appeal Committee, Neil Eggleston (from the United States), was not involved in the decision.
‘The request was rendered inadmissible on the grounds that the RBFA is not a party to the proceedings and, as such, has no standing to appeal the decision.’
The decision came just hours after Trump revealed how he phoned up FIFA chief Infantino over the matter and implored him to review Balogun’s red card.
‘Yeah, I did, I spoke to Gianni. I asked for a review by FIFA,’ Trump said. ‘That’s all I did. And, you know, again, I’m good at this stuff. That wasn’t a foul. That wasn’t even an infraction. That was two guys running full speed who happened to crash into each other.
FIFA confirmed they suspended the one-game ban handed to USA striker Balogun on Sunday
‘He (Balogun) didn’t do anything wrong, and he’s our best player, or one of our best players, a very vital player and they gave him a red card. I didn’t think it meant much. Then I started hearing that it means you can’t play in the next game, at least in the next game.
Following Trump’s admission that he had called up Infantino over the matter, the FIFA chief offered clarity over the matter through another statement on Monday.
He said: ‘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.’
Hours before FIFA had reached their verdict, the Belgian FA claimed that they didn’t officially launch the appeal. They instead claimed that they had asked FIFA for more information on the matter, which the governing body took as an official appeal.
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In a statement, they said: ‘After learning through media reports of FIFA’s decision to lift the automatic suspension of player Balogun, the RBFA sent a letter to FIFA requesting a copy of the decision, an explanation of the process that had been followed, and setting out its position regarding the applicable regulations.
‘As its only response, FIFA sent a letter to the RBFA stating that it considered this correspondence to constitute an appeal, that a judge had been appointed, and that the RBFA had only a few hours to complete that appeal. No information whatsoever was provided by FIFA.
‘For an appeal to be admissible, FIFA’s own regulations state that the reasoned decision must first have been communicated to the appellant. While the RBFA was merely seeking legitimate explanations, FIFA itself created an appeal and immediately ensured that it would be declared inadmissible.
Trump later thanked Infantino and the FIFA organisation for ‘reversing a great injustice’
The decision to show Balogun a straight red card sparked widespread fury on social media
‘All of this occurred while FIFA simultaneously refused to respond to the RBFA’s legitimate requests.’
‘Regardless of the sporting outcome of this match, the RBFA is deeply concerned by the course of events and will continue to fight in the coming hours, days and months in defence of the fundamental principles of ethics, fair competition, and the interests of football as a whole.’
Prior to the statement released on Monday, the Belgian FA had put out another scathing assessment of FIFA’s ‘astonishing decision’.
‘In order to safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both at this FIFA World Cup and at future editions of the tournament, the RBFA is investigating all potential options.’
Pascale Van Damme, the Belgian FA president who is a member of the Fifa Council, is understood to have flown in to Seattle on Sunday amid ongoing discussions on the matter.
Meanwhile, Belgium boss Rudi Garcia offered a brutal assessment on the matter during a press conference later in the day.
He said: ‘I didn’t know that at the World Cup the 5th July is now April 1st and is now April Fool’s Day…
‘We are defending football – its ethics and history. It’s the first time in WC history that such a decision has been taken…’
Balogun and Christian Pulisic were all smiles in training on Sunday after getting the news
When asked about allegations that Trump influenced FIFA’s decision, Garcia added: ‘Don’t waste your time talking about that… if you have any football questions we will answer that but for the rest please go to the [FA].’
FIFA are yet to respond to the Belgian FA’s statement. It’s understood Belgium are considering taking legal action and referring the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Balogun, 25, was sent off during the USA’s victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday following a challenge on defender Tarik Muharemovic.
Though it initially appeared to be a fairly innocuous tackle, replays showed that the striker did appear to scrape his cleats down his rival’s leg. However, the decision still sparked widespread fury online, with many fans calling to overturn the suspension.
On Sunday morning, their wish was granted after FIFA confirmed the suspension.
In their own statement, FIFA said: ‘In line with article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, the implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year.
‘If Folarin Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.’
In response, the USMNT said: ‘We accept the decision of the Disciplinary Committee and are pleased that Folarin Balogun is eligible to compete tomorrow.
‘Our full attention is focused on the Round of 16 match against Belgium in Seattle, and we look forward to the continued support of our amazing fans.’
The Daily Mail understands that the USMNT were informed about the decision on Sunday morning. However, the squad were not told straight away and later found out through social media.
