What happened to Balogun
Folarin Balogun was sent off with a straight red card in the U.S.'s 2-0 Round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, ruled for serious foul play after replay showed him stepping on the leg of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Tarik Muharemovic. Under FIFA's automatic-suspension rule, the red card carried an immediate one-game ban with no appeal process — it should have ruled him out of Monday's Round of 16 match against Belgium at Lumen Field in Seattle.
Trump calls FIFA — then FIFA reverses course
According to multiple outlets, President Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to ask him to review Balogun's suspension. On Sunday, July 5, FIFA's Disciplinary Committee announced it would suspend the one-game ban under Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, placing Balogun on a one-year probationary period instead — he's clear to play Belgium, but the suspension would be reinstated (plus any new penalty) if he commits "another infringement of a similar nature and gravity" within that year.
Trump claimed credit on Truth Social: "Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!" Reporting on the episode — including the New York Times' account of the Infantino call — has also noted there is no public evidence that Trump, the White House, or any U.S. official actually caused FIFA's decision. FIFA has not publicly cited Trump's call as a factor in its ruling.
A historical echo, and a referee under scrutiny
FIFA says this is the first reversal of its kind in more than 60 years of World Cup automatic red-card suspensions. The closest historical parallel dates to the 1962 World Cup, when Brazil's Garrincha was let off a suspension amid reported pressure from more than one head of state — back when red-card suspensions weren't automatic and a board reviewed each case.
Separately, the referee who sent off Balogun, Brazil's Raphael Claus, was scrutinized this week over an earlier chapter: he was investigated (not prosecuted or penalized) by a Brazilian Senate inquiry into match-fixing and betting manipulation tied to Brazil's top division in 2023. Investigators found no direct evidence connecting him to wrongdoing, and a Brazilian senator publicly stated it was unfair to associate leaked audio in that inquiry with Claus specifically.
Belgium is furious
The Royal Belgian Football Association said it was "astonished" by FIFA's about-face and is "investigating all potential options" for recourse, arguing the reversal contradicts FIFA's own written rules. Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia put it more bluntly: "I didn't know that at the World Cup the 5th of July is actually the first of April. It's April Fools."
Balogun is now expected to start for the USMNT against Belgium in the Round of 16 — Monday, July 6, 6 p.m. CT (5 p.m. PT) at Lumen Field in Seattle.