With a 1-0 lead in the second half against Bosnia & Herzegovina, the USMNT were cruising to the Round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup. Then, in the 64th minute of play, a seemingly innocuous challenge from Folarin Balogun on Tarik Muharemovic turned the match, and the tournament, on its head.
It wasn’t the challenge itself that created the controversy – it was VAR’s intervention and misinterpretation of their own rules that put the on-field official in an impossible position to make the correct decision.
🤯 ¡ @USMNT SE QUEDA SIN SU GOLEADOR!
— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) July 2, 2026
🟥 Balogun se va expulsado por una fuerte entrada sobre Muharemovic.
📺 Sigue la Copa Mundial de la FIFA 2026 por Telemundo y Peacock#MundialTelemundo #Somos26 #FIFAWorldCup #USMNT #USAvsBosnia pic.twitter.com/LfcIeWhTws
VAR recommended the on-field official to issue Balogun a straight-red card, meaning that the USMNT went down to 10 men for the remainder of their match against Bosnia & Herzegovina (which they ultimately won 2-0), and Balogun would be forced to miss his country’s next fixture against Belgium. FIFA’s disciplinary code doesn’t permit appeals against straight red cards, meaning that there wasn’t an avenue for the USMNT to appeal Balogun’s suspension.
Or so we thought.
How Balogun is able to play against Belgium
In a shock announcement on Sunday, FIFA cited “Article 27” of its code to turn Balogun’s one-match suspension into a one-year probation instead.
USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino was pleased with FIFA’s pivot, saying that his team “were punished enough against Bosnia-Herzegovina to play with 10 men (for) 30 minutes in a decision that was completely unfair.”
Just a bonkers situation.
— Joe Prince-Wright (@JPW_NBCSports) July 5, 2026
Plenty of ongoing updates in here as Folarin Balogun gets his one game-ban suspended, not overturned, by FIFA and is now available to play for the #USA against #Belgium tomorrow.
Full details, statements, analysis & more ⤵️https://t.co/qY0En2rkWI
U.S. President Donald Trump — who received the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize award ahead of the 2026 World Cup draw last December — called FIFA president Gianni Infantino following the USMNT’s victory over Bosnia & Herzegovina urging FIFA to review VAR’s decision against Balogun.
On Monday morning, Infantino confirmed his phone call with Trump and explained FIFA’s process:
“Yes, I regularly discuss matters related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States, and on this matter, I did receive a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football stakeholders and business executives from around the world on many different issues. During our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies. That is how FIFA’s system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino:
— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) July 6, 2026
“I have seen the public comments regarding the decision of the independent FIFA Disciplinary Committee related to the suspension of Folarin Balogun, and I would like to reiterate a fundamental principle of FIFA’s governance.
“FIFA’s judicial… pic.twitter.com/FzeWuMQIXf
Belgium’s statement and appeal
Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia didn’t hold back in his criticism to allow Balogun to play.
“I didn’t know that in the offices of FIFA the fifth of July was the first of April in Europe,” Garcia said. “The Belgian federation does not defend itself, it does not protect the national team. She defends football in general, she defends her integrity, her ethics. I think it’s the first time in the history of the World Cup that there is this kind of decision.”
On Sunday, The Athletic reported that Belgium would challenge the decision and had been granted the right to appeal. On Monday, the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) released a statement to “publicly explain the events of the past few hours” in which the organization said they had requested a copy of FIFA’s decision on Balogun’s suspension, as well as an explanation of the process, which FIFA had subsequently considered an appeal.
“To be clear, as of this moment, the RBFA has still not received any decision or any explanation from FIFA regarding this matter,” the statement said. “It therefore has no alternative but to challenge the player’s eligibility for the upcoming match. 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 defence of the fundamental principles of ethics, fair competition, and the interests of football as a whole.”
RBFA STATEMENT UPDATE
— Royal Belgian FA (@RoyalBelgianFA) July 6, 2026
Following its previous statement, the RBFA wishes to publicly explain the events of the past few hours. Read it here: https://t.co/8pzPMbEoWK pic.twitter.com/uTYX06Ergu
UEFA, Europe’s football governing body, also condemned FIFA by calling the ruling “an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision.”
What happens next?
On Monday afternoon, The Athletic reported that FIFA dismissed Belgium’s appeal, meaning Balogun is eligible to play for the USMNT when they take on Belgium in the Round of 16 at 8pm ET in Seattle.
Prior to FIFA’s latest statement, both U.S. Soccer and the RBFA were asked to make submissions by 5am PST on Monday morning for a potential ruling before kickoff which had “exasperated the Belgians who have not received the decision by FIFA to review,” per The Athletic.
“No information whatsoever was provided by FIFA,” the RBFA said in a follow-up statement Monday morning. While the RBFA was merely seeking legitimate explanations, FIFA itself created an appeal and immediately ensured that it would be declared inadmissible.”
