In an unexpected twist, the side that stood to benefit most from Folarin Balogun’s absence is now furious that the U.S. striker has been cleared to take the field.
Balogun, who delivered the decisive goal for the U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT) in its win over Bosnia and Herzegovina earlier this week, was later shown a red card following a deeply disputed VAR review — one that was, it has since emerged, carried out improperly.
More on that shortly.
The sending-off forced Balogun to miss the final 26 minutes of the match against B&H and initially ruled him out of Monday’s Round of 16 clash with Belgium in Seattle.
That changed Sunday afternoon, when FIFA announced it would pause enforcement of Balogun’s suspension, place him on a one-year probationary period, and permit him to play against Belgium.
The abrupt U-turn drew an angry response from the Royal Belgian Football Federation, which accused FIFA of delivering what amounted to an “April Fool’s Day” stunt.
The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) said it was “astonished” by FIFA’s move to make the suspended U.S. player eligible for the USA–Belgium match on Monday, 6 July, at 5:00 p.m. Seattle time.
The federation noted that FIFA cited Article 27 of its Disciplinary Code, a rule allowing the FIFA Disciplinary Committee to suspend the enforcement of an already imposed disciplinary punishment.
“However, Article 66.4 of the same FIFA Disciplinary Code clearly provides that a red card (sending-off) automatically results in a suspension for the team’s next match, as has been the case for all previous red cards issued during this FIFA World Cup.
“Furthermore, and irrespective of the above, the decision is in direct contradiction with the provisions of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Competition Regulations, as set out in Article 10.5:
“‘If a player or team official is sent off as a result of a direct or indirect red card (second caution), they will automatically be suspended from their team’s subsequent match. In addition, further sanctions may be imposed.’
“The automatic nature of such a suspension was also explicitly reaffirmed in FIFA World Cup 2026 Circular No. 16, which was distributed to all participating member associations on 12 May 2026.
“The same rule is reiterated at every FIFA World Cup 2026 Match Coordination Meeting prior to each match and is included in all FIFA World Cup 2026 workshop presentations.
“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.”
While the RBFA investigates its options, there are some holes in its case.
It is true that the rules regarding red cards are supposed to be straightforward, but that’s not actually what’s at issue. The issue is how Brazilian referee Rafael Claus reached the decision to give Balogun a red card.
While the use of VAR is permitted to determine the “intensity of an offense.” The rules dictate that the video review should be played at normal speed. The video Claus reviewed was slow-motion footage. After viewing Balogun’s foul on Muharemović in slow motion, Claus issued the striker a red card, having shown him no card during the actual play.
That is not how VAR is supposed to be used when determining the severity of a penalty.
A healthy argument can, and perhaps should, be made about whether Balogun should have been given a red card. However, it was the process by which Claus determined the severity of the penalty that rendered the red card null and void.
