Why FIFA's Balogun red card suspension after Trump call is so controversial

The World Cup campaign of the USA football team took an extraordinary turn on Sunday when FIFA seemingly broke with its own rules to allow star player Folarin Balogun to face Belgium in Monday's last 16 clash - despite receiving a red card in the Round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday.

The global football body announced that it had suspended the red card - which had meant an automatic one-match ban - after United States President Donald Trump urged FIFA chief Gianni Infantino to review the case.

The FIFA decision prompted criticism from Belgium's football association, Europe's top football body, a former FIFA boss, multiple top former players and many others. Critics argued that overturning a red card suspension after direct political intervention undermined the integrity of the tournament and set a dangerous precedent.

Ultimately, Trump intervened on his behalf, and his red-card suspension was lifted in a decision that now allows him to play in a World Cup match against Belgium on Monday.

FIFA relied on Article 27 of disciplinary committee rules to reverse the ban.

"The judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure," the rule states. "By suspending the implementation of the sanction, the judicial body subjects the person sanctioned to a probationary period of one to four years."

This is the first time since 1962 that a red card during a World Cup has not resulted in a suspension.

At the 1962 World Cup in Chile, star Brazilian player Garrincha received a red card during his team's 4-2 semifinal win over the hosts. At the time, a red card did not lead to automatic suspension from the next game - a disciplinary panel would examine the evidence and decide on the punishment. In the case of Garrincha, the panel decided to let him off with a warning. Garrincha played in Brazil's 3-1 final win against Czechoslovakia, as the South American football giants won their second World Cup in a row.

More recently, Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo was allowed to play his side's opening World Cup matches after FIFA suspended the final two games of a three-match ban he had received last year after receiving a red card during a match against the Republic of Ireland. Before he received the reprieve, he was poised to miss the first two games of the World Cup.

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) released a statement on Monday, saying: "Yesterday's decision to suspend for a probationary period of a year the implementation of the one-match automatic suspension following the red card issued to the player Folarin Balogun crossed a red line."

The UEFA statement added: "We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision."

Sepp Blatter, who led FIFA from 1998 to 2015, also criticised the body's decision.

"Red cards are not overturned by political phone calls. They are overturned by rules, evidence and independent bodies," he wrote on X. "If a U.S. President intervenes with the FIFA President - and a player is suddenly cleared before a World Cup knockout match - the question is unavoidable: Quo vadis, FIFA?"

"What about the next red card? What happens then?" Norway coach Stale Solbakken said. "It's a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad decision that will hurt the World Cup."

The football body, in justifying its decision, has cited Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, which allows it to suspend the enforcement of a previously imposed disciplinary sanction.

But the RBFA has pointed to Article 66.4 of the code, which makes a one-match ban automatic after a player receives a red card. It also cited Article 10.5 of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Competition Regulations, which states: "If a player or team official is sent off as a result of a direct or indirect red card [second caution], they will automatically be suspended from their team's subsequent match. In addition, further sanctions may be imposed."