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.

Balogun, who plays his club football for Monaco in France, has scored three goals for the cohosts at this World Cup and is the team’s leading scorer in the tournament.

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.

On Monday evening, the Belgian football association also accused FIFA of effectively killing any chance for it to challenge the global sports body’s decision. Hours later, FIFA rejected Belgium’s appeal against its decision.

Here is a closer look at what happened and why it has set off such a storm:

Why did Balogun receive the red card?

Balogun received the red card for stepping awkwardly on the right ankle of Tarik Muharemovic of Bosnia in a 2-0 win for the USA in their round-of -32 match, triggering an automatic one-game suspension.

Fans and commentators were divided on the original red card. While some felt it was justified, others argued that Balogun was off‑balance and made accidental contact rather than a deliberate stamp. On Friday, Balogun said he thought a yellow card instead of red “would have been fair”.

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.”

The US Soccer Federation (USSF) did not make Balogun available for comment on Sunday, but the player posted a picture of himself in front of fans and overlaid with music from Michael Jackson’s pop single Bad on social media.

Has this happened before?

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.

On the other hand, Qatar midfielder Assim Madibo was handed a five-match ban after receiving a red card for a tackle that seriously injured Canada midfielder Ismael Kone during a group match at the tournament.

Monday’s match will now be played against the backdrop of a decision that has become one of the defining controversies of the tournament, with the debate over FIFA’s powers unlikely to end at the final whistle.

What were the reactions to the red card reversal?

The decision to suspend Balogun’s red card has ignited one of the tournament’s biggest controversies.

The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) said it was “astonished“.

“In order to safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both at this FIFA World Cup and at future editions of the tournament, the RBFA is investigating all potential options,” the RBFA said in a statement.

Belgium coach Rudi Garcia mocked FIFA’s action. “I didn’t know that in the offices of FIFA the fifth of July was the first of April in Europe,” Garcia said through a translator in an April Fools’ Day comparison. “The Belgian federation does not defend itself, it does not protect the national team. She defends football in general, she defends her integrity, her ethics.”

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?”

Other football professionals weighed in on the row.

“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.”

England coach Thomas Tuchel wondered whether more decisions going forward could be challenged, including whether yellow cards could be overturned for England’s Declan Rice and France’s Michael Olise.

Tuchel said he believed Balogun did not deserve a red card, but questioned the decision to suspend his punishment, having just seen his defender Jarell Quansah get sent off in his side’s 3-2 last-16 win over Mexico on Sunday.

“I think first of all to be very clear that it is not a red card [for Balogun]. But VAR got involved, and obviously three people from VAR checked it and were of the opinion that it was a red card. So the decision is made,” Tuchel told reporters at Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium.

“Who overturns this decision then, and when? And on what grounds? How far does this go now? This is strange for me … Where does this start and where does this end?”

Football pundits rebuked FIFA’s decision while speaking to British television network ITV.

Former England footballer Ian Wright said: “We’re talking about integrity, people talking about transparency, but you look at some of the things that’s happened in this tournament with certain teams, it’s been … shameful how things can happen, especially as an American player, whether he’s guilty of what he’s done, whether we think he shouldn’t have got it or not. Some of the things that’s happened in this World Cup have been shameful.”

“It seems unfair because it is unfair,” Irish former professional footballer and television pundit Roy Keane said.

What was Trump’s role in all this?

Trump called Infantino after the game, asking FIFA to review the red card. He confirmed the conversation in an Oval Office interaction with journalists on Monday.

“I saw the play. And I’m a person that loves sports and was a good athlete. I understand sports really well, really well. And that wasn’t a foul. That wasn’t even an infraction. That was two guys running full speed that happened to crash into each other,” Trump said, before describing referee — Brazil’s Raphael Claus — as “very suspect”.

“So yes, I asked for a review by FIFA,” he added, describing Infantino as someone who was “very respected”.

Earlier, Trump had written on social media: “Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!”

Infantino, in a statement on Monday evening, justified FIFA’s move and his conversation with Trump.

“Yes, I regularly discuss matters related to the FIFA World Cup with the president of the United States, and on this matter, I did receive a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football stakeholders and business executives from around the world on many different issues,” he said. Infantino however claimed he told Trump that any review of decisions was carried out by independent bodies. The FIFA chief claimed he did not interfere in the functioning of these bodies, in effect distancing himself from the suspension of Balogun’s red card.

Coach Pochettino also applauded FIFA’s move.

“We were punished enough against Bosnia-Herzegovina to play with 10 men [for] 30 minutes in a decision that was completely unfair,” he said, referring to the fact that after Balogun was sent off following the red card, the team had to play with one less player for the rest of the match.

Pochettino, who played for Argentina in the 2002 World Cup, was not surprised Trump decided to call Infantino.

“I came from a culture, Argentina or Europe, that football, soccer, is a religion, more than the religion,” he said. “If we keep going, pushing on, maybe one step more tomorrow you will see that the sport is magic, that the sport is amazing, is so powerful, unite people, unite a country like us.”

What rules did FIFA violate, according to critics?

According to the Belgian football association, which has said it might challenge the FIFA ruling, the football body violated a series of its own rules.

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.”

FIFA World Cup 2026 Circular No 16 also confirms a one-match automatic suspension following a red card.

What’s the latest?

On Monday afternoon, the Belgian football association issued a new statement detailing its communication with FIFA.

It said that it had asked FIFA for a copy of its decision and an explanation.

“As its only response, FIFA sent a letter to the RBFA [the Belgian football federation] stating that it considered this correspondence to constitute an appeal, that a judge had been appointed, and that the RBFA had only a few hours to complete that appeal,” it said. “No information whatsoever was provided by FIFA.”

FIFA’s own rules, the Belgian federation said, stipulated that those appealing a decision must receive reasons for the decision. “While the RBFA was merely seeking legitimate explanations, FIFA itself created an appeal and immediately ensured that it would be declared inadmissible,” the Belgian football body said.

It also alleged that unlike every previous game in the 2026 World Cup, FIFA did not — in the match coordination meeting ahead of the Belgium-US game — refer to the “section concerning the automatic suspension of players” in its presentation. When the Belgian federation asked FIFA why this section was omitted, it said it received no answer.

Hours later, FIFA rejected Belgium’s appeal, describing it — as the Belgian football authorities had forewarned — as “inadmissible”.