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Washington, DC, United States – FIFA’s decision to suspend the one-game ban in the USA Folarin Balogunallowing the team’s top scorer to play in the crucial round of 16 World Cup match against Belgium has sparked controversy just hours before kick-off.
The controversy and subsequent chaos escalated on Monday when US President Donald Trump confirmed that he had asked FIFA to review its decision against Balogun, after the world football governing body overturned the player’s suspension for a key match.
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Was FIFA’s decision the result of Trump’s power move, or was it the correct correction of a red card that should not have been given in the first place?
It depends on who you ask.
The football fans of the country they play for seem to be divided.
While there is near agreement that the red card Balogun received against Bosnia and Herzegovina was cruel, not everyone agrees with Trump’s intervention.
“I think it’s bull,” Cesar Espino, who was watching the Spain-Portugal round of 16 match in a shopping center near Washington, DC, told Al Jazeera hours before the USA-Belgium match.
“I feel like if you win, it’s a stain, because Balogun is one of our top players.”
He said that the decision will make the USA “not very different”, adding to the list of conflicts of the coming country, including. travel restrictions and restrictions against The Iranian team during groups.
But 23-year-old Oscar Ramirez said that the issue is more difficult than the USA takes advantage of “because of the nature of the red card”.
“I think a lot of people, myself included, believe the red card was unfair; it was unfair,” Ramirez said.
“I think you’re going to have people like, we have to uphold the law no matter what. And you’re going to have some people who are like, that card shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”
The USA fan jokingly admitted that he is biased, so he agrees with the decision.
“I’m an American, and I want our best chance. And without him, we don’t have a good chance,” Ramirez said.
FIFA has responded
Balogun, who has scored three goals in the tournament so far, was shown a red card when he came into close contact with Bosnia’s Tarik Muharemovic’s knee.
The USA striker was looking for the ball, so what appeared to be an accident. However, Balogun was sent off after an on-field VAR review, leading to a one-match suspension.
FIFA later suspended the punishment without explanation.
Trump, who enjoys a close relationship with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, confirmed on Monday that he had requested a review of the suspension.
“All I did – I asked for a review because I didn’t think it was bad,” Trump said.
He added that the US had launched an investigation into the judge who issued the card, calling the official “very suspicious”.
“If you want, I can give you the past,” he told reporters.
FIFA has insisted that the decision was made by an independent tribunal, while Infantino has denied that his discussions with Trump may have influenced the process.
“During our discussion, I explained that there is an ongoing legal process related to FIFA’s independent judicial bodies and that the case will be decided in due course by the appropriate bodies,” said the FIFA President.
“That’s how the FIFA system works, and it’s a principle I always follow.”
Despite this, the US Senator Ted Cruz he thanked Trump earlier for “getting rid of the stupid red card”.
The dispute has angered Belgian football officials. But in the US, some politicians and commentators praised Trump for his intervention.
“I admit I’m not a big football fan, but I’m glad President Trump encouraged FIFA to do the right thing. Good for President Trump, good for Folarin Balogun, good for the USA,” Republican Senator Tom Cotton wrote on X.
Fox Sports analyst Alexi Lalas said Balogun’s suspension was surprising but good news.
“What happened here was America standing up for itself,” Lalas, a former USA player, told Fox News.
“The powers that be when it comes to the United States Soccer Federation did what they had to do under the rules and regulations that are in place to give ourselves a chance to succeed.”
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But CBS Sports commentator Nico Cantor said the episode sets a “dangerous precedent” that undermines the authority of players who make decisions based on their own interpretation of the rules.
“As much as I believe that Balogun did not deserve red, it is a reasonable opinion,” he wrote on X.
“Everything can be questioned afterwards. And it’s up to FIFA’s ‘judicial body’ – whoever they are, wherever they are – to call… as big a decision as they want.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the red card “brutal” but declined to comment on FIFA’s decision to lift the ban.
Instead, he posted a GIF of the Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho that, “I don’t like to talk. If I talk – a big problem.”
Back in Washington, DC, USA fan Lucas Faria said it was “crazy” that the suspension was changed, but added that the decision would not undermine faith in the World Cup because it is already full of controversy.
Faria told Al Jazeera that the race has become a Trump-Infantino showdown.
“Tickets have been worse. The competition has been worse so far. That’s an obvious thing,” he said.
Faria added, however, that the USA team should not be judged on FIFA’s decision.
“It’s not about them.”
