The whole world thought the United States would have to be without its star striker, Folarin Balogun, for its crucial World Cup round-of-16 game against Belgium.
Balogun had been shown a straight red card in the U.S.’s previous World Cup match, the 2-0 round-of-32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, triggering an automatic one-game ban, which multiple FIFA officials had told The Athletic could not be appealed.
But on Sunday afternoon, just a day before the USMNT faces Belgium at Lumen Field in Seattle, The Athletic revealed Balogun would, in fact, be available. This was later confirmed by statements from FIFA, which organizes the World Cup, and U.S. Soccer. “The implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year,” FIFA said.
Balogun’s red card for a foul on Bosnia’s defender Tarik Muharemovic proved controversial at the time, with U.S. head coach Mauricio Pochettino and winger Christian Pulisic among those to criticize the decision immediately after Wednesday’s game.
It is no surprise, then, that the decision from FIFA’s disciplinary committee — which has the power to increase bans, as well as fully or partially suspend them — has also triggered a sizeable reaction, starting from the very top.
“Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!” U.S. President Donald Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social.
‘I thought it was AI’
Balogun’s U.S. teammates, meanwhile, found out about the decision on the team bus to training at the University of Washington on Sunday. “Obviously, for us it gives us a boost,” Pulisic told reporters at training.
“I mean, if you look at the foul, it was just — it’s zero intent at all. I felt like there was much worse ones that went on at this tournament.
“Balo handled it so well, and I think the team handled it well. We weren’t here to complain or make some — like, you have to handle it in a good way, and, you know, good things happen to people like that. He was so positive and all for the team. It just feels right, I guess.”
“I don’t know when Balo found out,” defender Chris Richards said to reporters. “If he knew before us, he kept it quiet.
“I think a lot of us thought it was AI at first, but I think we’re really excited. We found out through social media. … I thought it was AI and stuff. There’s a lot of people posting a lot of stuff. So, we weren’t sure if it was true or not.
“I mean, to be fair, we were lit on the bus regardless. We had our speaker in the back, so we were just listening to music. Then one person said something, another person said another thing, and nobody wanted to confirm it. So, like I said, pretty much right when we got here (was) when we found out that it was true.”
Balogun’s foul on Muharemovic drew a straight red card after a video assistant review. (Michael Steele / Getty Images)
Asked about Balogun’s reaction, Richards added: “I think he’s keeping it cool right now. I think he was still nervous about if it was true or not. But I think he’s very excited.”
“We’re very happy, we know how much impact he can make on the game,” U.S. defender Alex Freeman said. “Finding out he’s available just gives us extra confidence. It was a process, but knowing he’s back, we’re just happy.”
“I had no clue (it was coming), I just found out this morning. It’s a little strange, I have no clue how it happened, we’re just happy it happened.”
Asked whether justice had now been served, Pulisic added: “I mean, it’s not for me to decide that. But of course — I think a lot of people could look at that (foul), and yeah, it was extremely harsh. So if you want to call it justice, you know, call it whatever. I mean, we were prepared to play without him.
“We’ve been granted this now opportunity to have him, which is great for us. And I’m mostly just happy for him. Again, seeing that smile on his face, he deserves to be playing in this game.”
‘It’s April Fools’
Not all the reaction to Balogun’s red card suspension being reversed has been positive.
The Belgian federation said it was “astonished” by the decision, that it was in “direct contradiction” with the competition regulations and said it is exploring “all potential options.”
The statement from the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) continued: “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 Belgian federation isn’t just defending itself or the national team; it’s defending football in general — its integrity and its ethics,” Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia said in French, via a translator, at his team’s press conference later on Sunday. “As far as I recall, I think this is the first time in World Cup history that a decision like this has been made. Anyway, I’m the coach, so I’m going to focus on my team and the match — it doesn’t matter who makes up the USA’s starting lineup. What matters to me is the pitch, my team, winning, and reaching the quarterfinals.”
Garcia added: “I didn’t know that at the World Cup the 5th of July is actually the first of April. It’s April Fools.”
Garcia appeared bemused by FIFA’s decision (Imagn Images via Reuters / Steven Bisig)
“As the game’s governing body, FIFA is literally a law unto itself, and its latest decision to excuse U.S striker Folarin Balogun from a suspension is out of line with its most recent precedent,” Graham Scott, a former Premier League referee for a decade, said.
“In the group stages, Qatari player Assim Madibo had his mandatory one-match ban upgraded to five games after he broke the leg of the unfortunate Ismaël Koné of Canada. His tackle and Balogun’s tackles were similar, in that neither is malicious, but both inadvertently put opponents at risk of serious or actual injury. The on-field referees initially awarded yellow cards, which was reasonable, before VAR watched replays that prompted upgrades to red.
“Far worse tackles delivered at great speed and intensity sometimes result in lesser sanctions because the aggressor happens to miss his target. That doesn’t feel fair to me, as players deserve to be judged on their actions, not the consequences.”
‘The right call – but why didn’t it happen straight away?’
Reacting to the decision on Fox’s broadcast ahead of Sunday’s Brazil-Norway last-16 game, Thierry Henry, who worked as an assistant coach with the Belgium national team from August 2016 to October 2018, said: “That’s exactly what it is for Belgium, it’s breaking news — it must have broke their spirits a tiny bit.
“Because you prepare to play the game a certain way and then suddenly you have to change your preparation. This is what happens when you do something like that — three, four days to make a decision.
“I do not think it was a red card. We all said it. We all know he did not do that on purpose. We all know that. If you’re Belgium, to prepare the game, it does change everything.
“OK, it is the right call, but why so late? Why didn’t it happen straight away?”
Rio Ferdinand, the former Manchester United and England defender who is also working for Fox during the World Cup, posted three clapping emojis to the news of Balogun’s availability.
Congressman Darin LaHood (R-IL), who chairs the Congressional Soccer Caucus, wrote on X: “Today, FIFA made the right decision and lifted the Red Card against USA star striker Flo Balogun. Let’s Goooooooo USA!”