U.S. star Balogun cleared to play vs Belgium after FIFA suspends his red card
Folarin Balogun will be available to play for the U.S. national team in its World Cup round-of-16 match against Belgium in Seattle on Monday night after his one-game red-card ban was suspended by FIFA, setting off celebration from U.S. fans and outrage from the Belgian federation.
Balogun, Team USA’s leading scorer, was set to serve a one-match suspension after receiving a red card in the Round of 32 victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina for a foul on defender Tarik Muharemovic.
It was a controversial foul, as it appeared Balogun stepped on Muharemovic’s foot by accident when their feet tangled, rather than as a foul with intent to harm. U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said it should not have been a red card, but it did not seem there was any way for the U.S. federation to appeal the decision.
FIFA announced Sunday afternoon that it postponed his suspension, utilizing article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code in which FIFA’s judicial bodies can fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure.
The Athletic was first to report the news and FIFA then released a statement that read:
“The FIFA disciplinary committee has imposed the following sanction on United States national-team player Folarin Balogun, who was sent off as a result of 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: A one match ban.
“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.”
U.S. Soccer responded:
“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.”
There was precedent for this type of decision.
In November 2025, Cristiano Ronaldo was cleared to play in Portugal’s opening matches at the 2026 World Cup after FIFA suspended the final two games of a three-match ban he had been issued for a foul during Portugal’s penultimate qualifying match against Ireland.
Ronaldo missed Portugal’s final qualifying game, but FIFA decided that barring a repeat incident, he would not have to serve the other two games of the original suspension.
The Belgian soccer federation said in a statement that it was “astonished” by FIFA’s decision to reinstate Balogun for Monday’s game.
“The Royal Belgian Football Association is astonished by FIFA’s decision to declare suspended United States player Folarin Balogun eligible to play in the USA-Belgium match on Monday,” the statement read. “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 possible options.”
Belgian coach Rudi Garcia said during his Sunday pregame press conference: “I didn’t know that at the World Cup the 5th of July is actually the first of April [April Fool’s]...the Belgian federation does not defend itself or the national team. It is defending football in general, its integrity and ethics.”
This story was originally published July 5, 2026 at 4:44 PM.