FIFA rejects Belgium challenge over Balogun eligibility, Trump calls red card U-turn 'brilliant'

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Source: Reuters

July 6, 2026 9:13 AM EDT Updated 1 hour ago


WASHINGTON, July 6 (Reuters) - FIFA President Gianni Infantino defended world soccer’s disciplinary process on Monday amid mounting international criticism after U.S. President Donald Trump praised FIFA’s decision to suspend ​Folarin Balogun’s World Cupred-card ban.

Infantino said FIFA’s judicial bodies operated “independently and autonomously” and that he had told Trump the Balogun case was subject to an ongoing legal process, even as the president described the decision to ‌reinstate the U.S. striker as “brilliant" after personally urging FIFA to review the case.

The affair has become the tournament’s biggest controversy, drawing condemnation from European football body UEFA, which said FIFA had "crossed a red line", the Royal Belgian Football Association, several national federations as well as senior coaches, officials and politicians, with critics arguing FIFA had undermined confidence in its own disciplinary system.

It also prompted the Belgians, hours before Monday's match against the U.S. later on Monday for a place in the quarter-finals, to challenge Balogun's eligibility, but their appeal was rejected by FIFA. As things stand, Balogun, sent off for a tackle ​during the U.S. win over Bosnia and Herzegovina -- a punishment that usually carries an automatic one-match ban -- is eligible to play later on Monday.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/uefa-says-fifa-crossed-red-line-with-balogun-red-card-u-turn-world-cup-2026-07-06/