Non-U.S. soccer fans are fed up with FIFA after Folarin Balogun's red card was suspended ahead of the Round of 16 match against Belgium on Sunday morning.
Balogun was hit with a red card in the 64th minute of the U.S. win over Bosnia. He was kicked out of the game and was set to be suspended for the Round of 16 game, per FIFA's rules. However, on Sunday - reportedly following a call to FIFA from the White House - the red card was suspended, making him eligible
"USA striker Folarin Balogun will be available to play in the co-host’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match against Belgium on Monday at Seattle Stadium. The FIFA Disciplinary Committee issued an update on Sunday on the status of the 25-year-old New York-born attacker, who has three goals for the Stars & Stripes at these global finals," FIFA announced.
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Belgium is furious, releasing a lengthy statement below:
"The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) is astonished by FIFA's decision to declare suspended United States player Folarin Balogun eligible to play in the USA–Belgium match on Monday, 6 July at 5:00 p.m. (Seattle time).
"FIFA bases its decision on Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. This provision states that the FIFA Disciplinary Committee may decide to suspend the enforcement of a previously imposed disciplinary sanction.
"However, Article 66.4 of the same FIFA Disciplinary Code clearly provides that a red card (sending-off) automatically results in a suspension for the team's next match, as has been the case for all previous red cards issued during this FIFA World Cup.
"Furthermore, and irrespective of the above, the decision is in direct contradiction with the provisions of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Competition Regulations, as set out in Article 10.5:
"'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.'
"The automatic nature of such a suspension was also explicitly reaffirmed in FIFA World Cup 2026 Circular No. 16, which was distributed to all participating member associations on 12 May 2026.
"The same rule is reiterated at every FIFA World Cup 2026 Match Coordination Meeting prior to each match and is included in all FIFA World Cup 2026 workshop presentations.
"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.
Non-U.S. soccer fans want America banned from future World Cup hosting opportunities
"Hate to say it but the world cup cannot be anywhere near the USA again. Political influence shouldn't play a part in this sport," a tweet from a European soccer fan read on Sunday evening.
As of publishing, the tweet has 31,000 likes. It's been viewed nearly 500,000 times.
Soccer fans appear to be fed up with the alleged "preferential" treatment given to the U.S. Meanwhile, the U.S. is defending the decision.
"We were punished enough against Bosnia to play with 10 men for 30 minutes, in a decision that was unfair ... It’s not because I’m the head coach of the USA… I think 99.9% of people agree it was an unfair red card," U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino said.
