For a while, the football appeared to have taken over the politics at the 2026 World Cup. Cape Verde taking world champions Argentina to the wire, Paraguay knocking out Germany and Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe fighting it out for the top scorer's Golden Boot — the focus was on the pitch.
But just before Norway upset Brazil and England knocked out cohosts Mexico in one of the tournament's best games, Donald Trump put his thumb on the World Cup scales. Reports from multiple sources state that the US President lobbied to have the red card suspension of his country's top scorer, Folarin Balogun, in effect, overturned.
He was successful, with FIFA ripping up the rulebook that bans red card appeals to say that the "automatic match suspension for USA player Folarin Balogun is suspended for a probationary period of one (1) year." FIFA cited Article 27, a broad piece of legislation which allows them to "fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure."
The decision was handed down a little more than 48 hours before the USA are to face Belgium in the quarterfinals and Trump celebrated with a post on his Truth Social platform that read: "Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!"
