In a move that surprised many fans and football commentators alike, Fifa announced on Sunday that USA striker Folarin Balogun will be available to play in the upcoming game against Belgium, despite being sent off with a red card during the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Commentators have accused the global football body of caving to political pressure after reports confirmed that US President Donald Trump made personal phone calls to Fifa President Gianni Infantino, and several officials and high-profile individuals were involved in challenging the initial red card decision.
A red card comes with an automatic one-match suspension, meaning that players are banned from playing in their team’s next match.
It is exceptionally rare for this decision to be overturned, mostly because Fifa’s disciplinary code does not allow appeals against straight red cards. There has only been one other case in history where a player has not served a suspension, which occurred in 1962, during a time in which there was no automatic ban.
A report by the American news website Politico detailed the timeline of US involvement, which began just minutes after the game between the World Cup co-host and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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Andrew Giuliani, the White House Fifa World Cup Task Force executive director, alongside Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, and other senior US Soccer Federation officials, spent four days lobbying and organising to appeal the red card decision, according to the report.
Middle East Eye reached out to the White House and Fifa for comment, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Fifa justified the decision on the grounds of Article 27, which gives it the power to suspend any disciplinary measures.
However, the Belgian Football Association released a statement saying it was “astonished” by the decision, calling it a “direct contradiction” with other provisions in the World Cup disciplinary code and competition regulations, underscoring the automatic suspension that comes with a red card.
On Monday, Belgium was given the right to appeal the decision, but with a limited time frame to submit it on the same day.
While Trump praised the decision in a post on Truth Social, Europe’s football federation Uefa decried the decision, saying that Fifa had “crossed a red line”.
“Football, like any other sports, relies on rules, which are the basis for fair, honest and transparent competition. Sometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case not.
“A minimum automatic suspension of one match following a red card is not a discretionary option and does not require the decision of a competent body to be enacted,” the statement read.
“When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined,” it continued, adding: “We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision.”
Many commentators took to various social media platforms to echo the criticism, accusing Fifa of unfairly privileging the US.
Former Fifa President Sepp Blatter, who was accused of corruption and later acquitted, wrote on X: “Red cards are not overturned by political phone calls. They are overturned by rules, evidence and independent bodies… Football must never become a playground for political power.”
Former spokesperson for Barack Obama and political commentator, Tommy Vietor, said: “As a fan, I am obviously overjoyed that Balogun will get to play,” but that “it will make the rest of the world feel like the tournament was rigged”.
Other reactions amplified the wider problems surrounding this year’s Fifa World Cup, criticising the Trump administration’s policies on immigration and the treatment of the Iranian national team.
In a Reddit thread about the incident, one user said: “the fact that these sorts of calls are rarely overturned acts as an equalizer, since it could happen to any team. so overturning the call for a host country feels like favoritism”.
British media host Piers Morgan said: “This will be the biggest story, and potential scandal, of the World Cup.”
Author and geopolitics expert Bruno Macaes wrote on X: “If you don’t draw the line at genocide I don’t think you’ll draw it at football,” referring to the continued participation of Israel’s football association in international competitions despite its ongoing genocide in Gaza.
