Trump Praises FIFA for Lifting Balogun's World Cup Red-Card Suspension

On July 5, 2026, FIFA's Disciplinary Committee lifted the one-match suspension of U.S. forward Folarin Balogun, clearing him to face Belgium in the World Cup round of 16 in Seattle the next day. Balogun had been sent off by video review for a "serious foul" in the July 1 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, a call USMNT players disputed as accidental. FIFA did not revoke the card and gave no reason for reversing a suspension not normally open to appeal, placing Balogun on one-year probation instead. President Trump then posted on Truth Social praising FIFA for doing "what was right" and reversing "a great injustice."

A sitting president publicly claiming vindication over an independent sports body's disciplinary ruling is unusual, and it comes amid an already close relationship between Trump and FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who months earlier awarded Trump the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize. The unexplained reversal of a rarely appealable sanction, immediately celebrated by the President, raises questions about the appearance of political influence over the sport's governance, even absent evidence his post affected the outcome.

Balogun is eligible for the Belgium match; the red card and one-year probation stand. Neither FIFA nor U.S. Soccer said why the sanction was overturned; a comparable decision was recently made for Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo.