USMNT forward Folarin Balogun's suspension lifted, cleared to play against Belgium

On Sunday, FIFA suspended the red card of USMNT striker Folarin Balogun. He's now eligible to play in their Round of 16 match against Belgium on Monday night.

The United States were not able to appeal Balogun's one-match suspension, automatically resulting from his second-half red card in their 2-0 win over Bosnoa & Herzegovina in the Round of 32. Balogun was sent off for a clash with defender Tarik Muharemović, with his studs coming down hard on the defender's ankle in what looked like accidental contact following a challenge for the ball. No card was given initially, but referee Raphael Claus was advised to review the play by the video assistant referee.

Per Article 27 of FIFA’s disciplinary code, “the judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure.” FIFA has not expanded on the factors that led to the decision, but according to FOX Sport's Doug McIntyre, the play that led to the red card should not have even been flagged for video review, as established in FIFA's own protocols.

According to GIVEMESPORT's Ben Jacobs, the White House made a call to FIFA president Gianni Infantino asking for a review of the red card. It is not known when in the review process this happened, or if the call had any bearing on the ultimate decision, which (as mentioned above) may have entirely come down to an incorrect application of the video review protocols.

🚨 Exclusive: The White House made a direct call to FIFA to ask Gianni Infantino to review Folarin Balogun’s red card. FIFA approached for comment and referred to the findings of its independent committee.

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— Ben Jacobs (@jacobsben.bsky.social) July 5, 2026 at 12:45 PM

The suspended red card isn't without precedent. Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off against the Republic of Ireland for elbowing defender Dara O'Shea in a 2-0 loss in World Cup qualifying, and served a mandatory one-match suspension. FIFA also issued an additional three-match ban for violent conduct, but suspended the ban for a year, allowing Ronaldo to play in the World Cup – he would have otherwise missed all three of Portugal's group stage matches.

What it means

Balogun's initial red card was incredibly harsh and the wrong call, and I had issues with the way VAR was used to send him off. Ultimately, he should be able to play against Belgium, and the correct decision was reached, albeit in a very roundabout way.

The decision-making process, though, is sketchy at best. FIFA already don't have a sterling reputation for making above-board decisions, and their suspension of Ronaldo's ban opened a whole can of worms.

I'm all for overturning bad decisions, but the lack of transparency into the process is a bad look, especially with potential involvement from the White House adding to the shadiness (I don't actually think the call had anything to do with the decision, but still... optics).

Going forward, FIFA needs to add a formal appeal process with full transparency into the decision-making process. Either that, or stick with the original calls and their mandatory suspension no matter what.