2026 Trump–FIFA red card controversy

Folarin Balogun in 2026, Donald Trump and FIFA president Gianni Infantino in May 2025

During the 2026 World Cup, FIFA suspended a one-game suspension that United States men's national soccer team player Folarin Balogun had received after he was sent off in a round of 32 match victory against the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team for a foul on Tarik Muharemović. Balogun's suspension was delayed for a probationary period of one year under the Article 27 authority of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. United States president Donald Trump had directly called FIFA president Gianni Infantino asking him to review the red card decision. The decision allowed Balogun to participate in the United States' Round of 16 match against Belgium despite the red card remaining in effect. Belgium won the match by a score of 4–1, with Balogun playing almost the entire match.

Background

Folarin Balogun entered the 2026 FIFA World Cup as the United States men's national soccer team' starting striker after being named to the nation's 26-player squad. He scored twice in the opening group-stage victory over Paraguay before adding another goal in a 2–0 Round of 32 victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina. On July 5, FIFA suspended the ban under Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, placing it on a one-year probationary period while allowing the red card itself to stand. The decision made Balogun eligible to face Belgium and marked the first time since the introduction of FIFA's automatic suspension system that a World Cup red-card suspension had been suspended rather than served.

In July 2026, US President Donald Trump called Gianni Infantino and asked FIFA to review the red card issued to Folarin Balogun for planting his boot into the ankle of Tarik Muharemović during the match between United States and Bosnia.

Red card incident

On May 26, 2026, Balogun was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. On June 12 in his World Cup debut and the team's opening group stage match against Paraguay national football team, Balogun scored twice in the 4–1 opener, being named Player of the Match. The game marked the first time an American had a multi-goal World Cup match in 96 years, since the 1930 FIFA World Cup in Uruguay, when Bert Patenaude scored the first hat-trick in World Cup history, coincidentally also against Paraguay. The following game against Australia men's national soccer team, he won a second back-to-back Player of the Match award as the United States secured top spot in Group D.

Balogun scored the opening goal in the 2–0 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team in the round of 32, matching Landon Donovan for the second-most goals scored by an American in a single FIFA World Cup, with three, trailing only Patenaude's four goals in 1930.

However, later in the game he received a red card. In the 64th minute, Balogun stepped on the ankle of Tarik Muharemović when the two players were challenging for the ball. The referee Raphael Claus did not call a foul on the field, but the VAR Juan Soto called for an on field review for a red card. After reviewing the slow motion replays, Claus sent off Balogun for serious foul play. This made Balogun only the fourth World Cup player to score a goal and receive a red card in the same match, most recently by Zinedine Zidane in 2006. This initially necessitated his exclusion from the United States' round of 16 match against Belgium.

Reactions to red card

The decision to award Balogun a red card generated outrage from American fans and a media campaign with the slogan "Free Flo". According to two sources heard by the New York Times, US officials including commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and Andrew Giuliani provided lawyers for the United States team to appeal the red card. The sources stated that a US team donor had said that the referee's use of a slow-motion replay made the red card invalid, and that Trump had made the same argument later when talking to Infantino. The Laws of the Game do indeed provide that the on-field referee should use normal speed, not slow motion, to determine the severity of an offence. Additionally, former referee Andy Davies stated that the use of slow motion and still images to make recommendations to the on-field referee relating to the issuance of a red card during the review process constituted a breach of VAR protocols.

After Trump expressed doubt about the legitimacy of Claus' red card and professional ethics, the Brazilian Football Confederation expressed support for the referee, who is a member of the organization, and pushed back against any "suspicion" regarding his professional integrity.

Suspension of red card

Balogun's suspension was later overturned under the Article 27 authority of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. FIFA declined Belgium's appeal to have the effects of Balogun's red card restored, stating that the request was "inadmissible".

AP News confirmed that president Donald Trump personally called Infantino to review the red card decision. The Guardian reported that Trump made three calls to FIFA lobbying to have the ban lifted. Trump told reporters on July 6 that "All I did, I asked for a review because I didn't think it was a foul". He said that "that wasn't even an infraction."

Legitimacy and precedents

FIFA had previously informed The Athletic that national associations could not appeal red cards or the resulting suspensions during the World Cup, leading to suggestions that the disciplinary committee had acted on its own initiative.

It is a long-standing principle that a referee's factual decisions can only be overturned or modified by himself, and that a referee's decision can only be modified by a disciplinary committee if he erred in applying the rules. Thus, in a case of a foul involving the possibility of serious injury, the committee has no powers to suspend a red card, but it can issue further disciplinary sanctions if such are deemed justified.

Rule 10.5 of the Regulations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup confirm that a red card means an automatic suspension from the team's next game, and that additional disciplinary measures may be applied, and the aforementioned Article 27 of the FIFA disciplinary code, which was used to justify the lifting of Balogun's ban, only refers to disciplinary sanctions, and therefore is not applicable to a referee's decisions.

Comparisons were made to Cristiano Ronaldo, who received a red card in Portugal's second-last World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland. He received a three-match ban, but the latter two were suspended by FIFA under the same Article 27 that was used as justification to suspend Balogun's suspension, allowing Ronaldo to compete in Portugal's opening two matches of the 2026 World Cup. Article 27 was also used to waive the suspension of Argentina's Nicolás Otamendi and Ecuador's Moisés Caicedo, both of whom received a red card in their country's final World Cup qualifier. This allowed both of them to appear in their country's first match at the World Cup. The closest precedent to Balogun's case is the dismissal of Brazil's Garrincha during the 1962 FIFA World Cup semi-final. However, before 1970, a sending-off by a referee did not automatically result in a one-match ban, so Garrincha's ban would have had to have been issued by a disciplinary committee. The day after the sending-off, a disciplinary committee decided against suspending Garrincha for the final (which Brazil won). They were allegedly influenced by intervention from the President of the host nation, Chile, Jorge Alessandri. Out of 189 other red cards at World Cups, only Garrincha had escaped a suspension for a red card before Balogun.

Reactions to suspension

Donald Trump welcomed FIFA's decision on Truth Social, writing: "Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!". In response to the controversy, Trump said he "didn't think it was a foul" and added "He [Balogun] didn't do anything wrong". Trump said that "I thought it was two great athletes who crashed into each other and got entangled... I think it [the suspension] would have left a big stain. I can't tell them what to do. I don't believe they made the decision; I believe it was the commission that made the decision. And it was the right decision." Trump called the referee "a little bit suspect" and said to "check his past". He said that "I didn't know what the hell a red card is, when I found out I said, 'you've got to be kidding.'"

President Donald Trump (left), next to president of FIFA Gianni Infantino, and FIFA advisor Carlos Cordeiro (to the right of Rubio) at the White House in November 2025

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised FIFA's decision, stating that the organization should not perform slow-motion reviews. He joked about bringing up the controversy up "at NATO tomorrow when we're there with the Belgians and everybody else". United States Senator from Texas Ted Cruz praised the decision and thanked President Trump for "getting rid" of the red card.

Prime Minister of Belgium Bart De Wever, mocked FIFA's decision on Instagram, sharing an image of his cat with a speech bubble reading "Red card? I'll play anyway." Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot criticized FIFA's decision, calling it "incomprehensible". The Belgian Socialist Party condemned the decision, calling it a "deplorable image for FIFA, for the soccer World Cup, and for the United States."

EU Commissioner Glenn Micaleff called the red card suspension the "wrong decision", and asserted that "decisions on sporting rules and sporting matters belong to sporting bodies, not politicians." Yvan Verougstraete of the EU Parliament responded to the decision, arguing that "FIFA must defend fairness, not give the impression of yielding to political pressures."

FIFA current and former officials

Infantino said on July 6 that he had talked with Trump about Balogun's red card. He said that "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."

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter complained on social media that "Red cards are not overturned by political phone calls. They are overturned by rules, evidence and independent bodies". He said that "If a US 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? Football must never become a playground for political power".

Football teams

• Belgium: Belgium's national team was set to be the United States' next opponents. The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) issued a statement expressing shock at FIFA's decision to suspend Balogun's automatic one-match ban. They argued the ruling contradicted FIFA Disciplinary Code Article 66.4 and 2026 World Cup Regulation Article 10.5, both of which mandate an automatic suspension for a red card in the next match. The former article states that "a sending-off automatically incurs suspension from the subsequent match". The RBFA said they would review all options to protect fair play and tournament integrity, while coach Rudi Garcia likened the announcement to an April Fools' Day joke.
• United States: United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino welcomed FIFA's decision to suspend the ban, saying those who value ethics and integrity "should celebrate" the ruling. With regards to potential political pressure, he said "we shouldn't mix that".

• England: Speaking in the aftermath of England's contemporaneous 3–2 victory against Mexico, in which English player Jarell Quansah was sent off, the England national team head coach Thomas Tuchel said that the ruling on Balogun set a dangerous precedent: "Where to draw the line is the question that I ask. I have no answer to that". He added: "Do we appeal if a yellow card is not a yellow card? Do we think it is not a red card or who thinks it? Where does this start and where does this end? It's my question. I don't have an answer."
• Italy: Italian Football Federation president Giovanni Malagò said that "[t]his is objectively a very dangerous precedent, an extremely dangerous political precedent", adding that "when you see a decision like this, the meritocracy that is the foundation of football is lost."
• Germany: German Football Association president Bernd Neuendorf said that "The impression that there has been active political interference in sport must be dispelled swiftly and conclusively. The integrity of the competition and the credibility of FIFA are at stake"
• Norway: Norway national football team manager Ståle Solbakken said that FIFA's suspension of the red card was a "bad decision that will hurt the World Cup. I feel also sorry for the United States, because if they win, that will always hang in the balance for it".
• Switzerland: The Swiss Football Association published a statement declaring its solidarity with the Royal Belgian Football Association, saying that the decision is incomprehensible and the credibility of the competition depends on the equal application of the laws, and that the principle was clear until this moment. The law is equal for everyone: any player who is sent off is suspended in the coming match. The decision raises ambiguity, especially regarding the authority of refereeing decisions, particularly when the VAR intervenes.

Sports associations

• Europe: The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) stated that "[w]hen the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined", further adding that "We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision."

See also

• List of 2026 FIFA World Cup controversies

References