FIFA Makes Final Decision On Folarin Balogun's Ban After Belgium's Appeal

FIFA suspended Folarin Balogun's one-game ban after he received a straight red card during the team's game against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday, July 1.

And the Belgian national team was not very happy about that, with head coach Rudi Garcia joking that he wondered if this whole situation was an April Fools' prank.

"The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) has received the decision of the FIFA Appeal Committee, signed by its member Mr Salman Al-Ansari, which declares the RBFA's case inadmissible and confirms the earlier decision allowing United States player Folarin Balogun to play," their statement read. "To date, the RBFA has still not received any grounds for this decision, nor has it received the information it has been requesting since the start of this procedure id est a copy of the decision and the motivation declaring the player eligible as well as the referee's report. Which is a breach of FIFA regulations.

"The RBFA has informed the United States Soccer Federation that it contests the eligibility of the player, should the player be listed on the referee's team sheet. This leaves all further actions open."

U.S. head coach Mauricio Pochettino also addressed the decision as well as Belgium's reaction.

"For me, there isn't much debate here, though I do understand Belgium's perspective and Rudi's point of view," Pochettino told reporters. "I understand why people conflate issues - people always do, because there's often an agenda to mix things up - but in this case, I don't think it's right.

"If anyone was harmed in this whole situation, it was the United States. Can anyone justify the idea that we weren't punished? I mean, playing 30 or 35 minutes a man down in a World Cup knockout match? It's not as if we're benefiting. No, no. There's no extraordinary gain we're getting out of all this. I mean, ultimately, we aren't victims, but we aren't the villains of this story either."

This comes after a New York Times report stating that President Donald Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino, asking him to review Balogun's suspension.

"Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right and reversing a great injustice!" Trump posted on Truth Social after news of Balogun's ban being suspended broke.

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This story was originally published July 6, 2026 at 1:35 PM.