Belgium demands explanation from FIFA after Balogun reversal, Trump intervention
The Belgian soccer federation, which had previously announced that it was “astonished” with FIFA’s decision to suspend the red card ban on U.S. striker Falorin Balogun, clearing him to play in Monday night’s World Cup Round of 16 game against Belgium, has asked for a full explanation of the decision.
“After learning through media reports of FIFA’s decision to lift the automatic suspension of player Balogun, the RBFA [Royal Belgian Football Association] sent a letter to FIFA requesting a copy of the decision, an explanation of the process that had been followed, and setting out its position regarding the applicable regulations,” the RBFA said in statement released Monday morning.
“As its only response, FIFA sent a letter to the RBFA stating that it considered this correspondence to constitute an appeal, that a judge had been appointed, and that the RBFA had only a few hours to complete that appeal. No information whatsoever was provided by FIFA.
“For an appeal to be admissible, FIFA’s own regulations state that the reasoned decision must first have been communicated to the appellant. While the RBFA was merely seeking legitimate explanations, FIFA itself created an appeal and immediately ensured that it would be declared inadmissible. All of this occurred while FIFA simultaneously refused to respond to the RBFA’s legitimate requests.”
Multiple news outlets, including the New York Times, Associated Press, and ABC News, reported Sunday that President Trump intervened in the matter of the controversial Balogun red card, speaking to FIFA president Gianni Infantino asking for clarification of the red card and the suspension.
On Monday, Trump revealed at a news conference the details of his conversation with Infantino: “All I did was ask for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul. And, you know, again, I’m good at this stuff. I didn’t think it was a foul. I thought it was two great athletes that crashed into each other and got entangled.”
“I think they made a really brilliant decision. I think the referee’s call was horrible and nobody talks about that. They talk about the red card like it’s fine, nobody talks the referee’s decision to red card.”
The New York Times reported that senior Trump administration officials, including commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House task force on the World Cup, contacted lawyers to help the U.S. Soccer Federation try to appeal, despite FIFA’s rules against such appeals.
Trump and Infantino Trump have a close relationship and have been photographed together many times. The FIFA president attended Trump’s inauguration in January 2025. In December, Infantino and FIFA awarded Trump the inaugural “FIFA Peace Prize” at the World Cup draw.
It was a controversial foul, as it appeared Balogun stepped on Bosnia defender Tarik Muharemovic’s foot by accident when their feet tangled, rather than as a foul with intent to harm.
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FIFA announced Sunday afternoon that it postponed Balogun’s 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.
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, although it did not occur during the World Cup, but rather in the tournament’s qualification round.
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 federation awaits a decision and explanation from FIFA.
“To be clear, as of this moment, the RBFA has still not received any decision or any explanation from FIFA regarding this matter. It therefore has no alternative but to challenge the player’s eligibility for the upcoming match,” read the statement.
“Regardless of the sporting outcome of this match, the RBFA is deeply concerned by the course of events and will continue to fight in the coming hours, days and months in defense of the fundamental principles of ethics, fair competition, and the interests of football as a whole.”
This story was originally published July 6, 2026 at 11:32 AM.