FIFA just did something it hasn’t done in over six decades. The global football governing body suspended the automatic one-match ban on US striker Folarin Balogun after he received a straight red card during the 2026 World Cup match against Bosnia-Herzegovina. The catalyst? A phone call from President Donald Trump to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, urging him to reconsider what the White House called a “great injustice.”
UEFA, European football’s governing body, is not taking it quietly. In a statement issued on July 6, the organization condemned the decision and warned that FIFA has “crossed a red line” on fair play standards. The word they used to describe the reversal was “uncomprehensible,” which, grammatical creativity aside, gets the point across.
What actually happened
Balogun picked up a straight red card during the US group-stage match against Bosnia-Herzegovina. Under FIFA’s standard disciplinary rules, that means an automatic one-match suspension. Trump reportedly contacted Infantino within hours of the red card incident, pressing for a review of the suspension. On July 5, FIFA announced it had suspended Balogun’s one-match ban for a probationary year, effectively clearing him to play in the Round of 16 match against Belgium.
