Last Updated on 2 weeks ago by TodayWhy Editorial
US red card World Cup searches spiked twice in one week over Folarin Balogun. First when he was sent off in the USMNT’s Round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina — then again days later when FIFA abruptly lifted his suspension after President Trump personally called FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Here’s exactly what happened at both stages, why the reversal is more defensible than the headlines suggest, and what it means for Balogun’s availability against Belgium.
What happened with the US red card at the World Cup?
The incident came in the 64th minute of the USMNT’s Round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Balogun, who had already given the US a 1-0 lead just before halftime, was challenging Bosnia defender Tarik Muharemović for the ball when his right boot came down on the back of Muharemović’s leg and ankle. Brazilian referee Raphael Claus initially played on, then went to the pitchside monitor for a VAR review before showing Balogun a straight red card for serious foul play.
Despite playing the final 36 minutes with ten men, the United States held on and extended its lead in the 82nd minute through a Malik Tillman free kick, sealing a 2-0 win and a place in the Round of 16 against Belgium.
Why was it ruled a red card and not a yellow?
Under FIFA’s laws of the game, referees can issue a straight red for serious foul play even without malicious intent, if the contact is judged forceful or reckless enough to endanger an opponent. Claus determined that Balogun’s studs made direct, downward contact with Muharemović’s Achilles — the kind of contact officials are instructed to treat as serious foul play regardless of intent.
US head coach Mauricio Pochettino disagreed strongly with the call, telling reporters after the match that in his view it was never a red card and that there was no intention to injure. Balogun’s teammate Weston McKennie made a similar point, noting that comparable challenges elsewhere in the tournament went unpunished.
Was the VAR review actually flawed?
This is the part that got buried once the Trump phone call became the story — but it matters, because the case for reversing Balogun’s card doesn’t depend on politics alone. Before Trump ever called FIFA, ESPN’s own independent match-officiating review had already concluded the red card was the wrong call, describing the contact as accidental and incidental to a normal 50-50 challenge for the ball.
Former Premier League referee Andy Davies went further, arguing that VAR protocol itself was misapplied: officials are supposed to weigh real-time footage before recommending a red-card review, not slow-motion and still frames alone, which is what the referee was shown. In Davies’s assessment, either the sending-off was wrong on the merits, or the process used to reach it broke FIFA’s own rules — before any politician got involved.
Why was Balogun’s suspension lifted?
On July 5, days after The New York Times reported that President Trump had called Infantino to ask FIFA to review the card, FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee announced it was suspending — not erasing — Balogun’s one-match ban. The statement cited Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, which lets the judicial body hold a sanction back for a probationary period rather than enforce it immediately.
That’s a meaningful technical distinction: Balogun’s red card stays on his record, and the suspension would still apply if he committed a similar offense within a year. It’s effectively a suspended sentence rather than an acquittal — a mechanism FIFA had already used three times this World Cup cycle before Balogun, deferring bans for Cristiano Ronaldo, Nicolás Otamendi, and Moisés Caicedo. That pattern undercuts the idea that FIFA invented a new rule specifically for the US star; it applied an existing, if rarely used, provision.
What was Trump’s role — and is the criticism fair?
Trump’s public reaction was to thank FIFA for what he called reversing an injustice, without claiming personal credit for changing the outcome. That framing matters for how you read the episode: reporting from CBS News indicates the White House did engage directly, with a task force official and the Commerce Secretary also in contact with FIFA, but sources also described the government sharing additional video evidence with the Disciplinary Committee rather than simply pressuring it.
Seen that way, the sequence looks less like a president overruling a referee and more like a formal review that a flawed VAR process arguably should have triggered on its own. Pochettino, notably, separately argued the US squad was the side actually harmed in this whole saga, having played more than half an hour a man down in a knockout match it still had to win.
Belgium’s objection: is the reversal even legal?
The Royal Belgian Football Association isn’t buying the Article 27 explanation. In a statement, it argued the provision conflicts with Article 66.4 of the same disciplinary code, which says a red card “automatically” triggers a one-match ban, and with Article 10.5 of the World Cup’s own competition regulations — and said it was exploring “all potential options,” a possible signal toward the Court of Arbitration for Sport. It’s a legitimate procedural argument, and UEFA has said it will weigh in separately. Whether Balogun’s reprieve survives a formal challenge is still an open question even if the underlying red card was genuinely bad.
Is this the same type of controversy as other World Cup red cards?
It’s the latest example of a recurring flashpoint at this tournament: incidental-looking studs-down contact during a 50-50 challenge, reviewed in slow motion by VAR. TodayWhy has also explained why covering your mouth can draw a red card under this World Cup’s stricter enforcement standards, and broken down why the Round of 16 bracket is this wide open — part of a broader pattern of decisions that have surprised players and fans watching in real time versus frame-by-frame replay.
Frequently asked questions
Who got the red card for the USA vs Bosnia?
Folarin Balogun was sent off in the 64th minute after a VAR review, for a challenge that made studs-down contact with Bosnia defender Tarik Muharemović’s leg and ankle.
Did the US win despite the sending-off?
Yes. The United States beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 even after playing the final 36 minutes with ten men, advancing to the Round of 16.
Will Balogun play against Belgium?
Yes. FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee lifted his one-match suspension on July 5 under Article 27 of the Disciplinary Code, making him available for the Round of 16 match in Seattle — reversing what had initially been an automatic ban.
Did Trump get the suspension overturned?
Reporting indicates Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to ask for a review, and the White House was in further contact with FIFA afterward. FIFA has not credited the call directly, instead citing Article 27 and, according to some reports, additional video evidence submitted for review.
Was the red card controversial?
Yes, on both ends. Coach Mauricio Pochettino and several players disagreed with the original sending-off, and a former Premier League referee said the VAR process that produced it didn’t follow protocol. Belgium, in turn, disputes whether FIFA’s reversal was even permitted under the tournament’s own rules.