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Multiple powerful officials and politicians were involved in Folarin Balogun's red card reversal
Unless the United States men’s national team win the World Cup — and even in that unlikely scenario, it would remain a massive part of the narrative — the story of the USMNT’s 2026 World Cup will be Folarin Balogun. For better or for worse.
On one hand, the 25-year-old Folarin Balogun has been one of the breakout stars of the 2026 World Cup, as he’s scored three goals in about 3.5 games and has reportedly secured himself a move to a bigger club than Monaco this summer.
And to be at a bigger club than Monaco, that would mean making a move into the upper echelon of European clubs — yearly contenders in the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, or Serie A, and thus the perennial Champions League threats.
Multiple powerful individuals, from lawyers to politicians to Presidents, were involved in FIFA suspending Folarin Balogun’s red card punishment
On the other, the historic ruling made by FIFA over his one-game red card suspension — through no fault of his own — has ignited into becoming one of the most controversial stories in recent World Cup history.
On Sunday, FIFA announced that they were “suspending the red card issued to the USA striker during their Round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina,” and cited article 27 of the FIFA disciplinary code, which gives the organization the power to “suspend the enforcement of a previously imposed disciplinary sanction.”
The response on social media was swift and widespread, with American soccer fans — many of whom acknowledge the decision stinks of corruption — celebrating the ruling and European soccer fans decrying it.
Full timeline of the effort to have FIFA overturn USMNT striker Folarin Balogun’s one-game red card suspension
The Balogun ruling didn’t happen has a result of whim, however, as there were multiple and powerful forces at play, from officials and financiers to politicians and Presidents, as per Politico reporter Sophia Cai, who laid out the full timeline in her reporting of the story.
FULL timeline of the campaign to bring Balogun back, according to a half dozen U.S. government & soccer officials:
– Wednesday after U.S.-Bosnia match: Andrew Giuliani alerted Trump to the red card (Trump & Giuliani had been talking multiple times/week since start of World Cup…— Sophia Cai (@SophiaCai99) July 6, 2026
Wednesday, July 1
-Immediately after the United States’ win over Bosnia and Herzegovnia in the Round of 32, White House FIFA World Cup Task Force executive director Andrew Giuliani alerted President Trump to the red card.
-Giuliani, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Soccer officials began putting together plans to challenge the red card and Balogun’s suspension
Thursday, July 2
-President Trump personally called FIFA president Gianni Infantino — the pair have had a relationship for eight years now — to “ask” about FIFA’s rules regarding red cards and suspensions
Friday, July 3 and Saturday, July 4
-As U.S. Soccer’s legal team formally prepared and submitted its appeal, Giuliani and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick offered to make White House attorneys available to assist.
-Simultaneously, Giuliani and Scott Goodwin — a hedge-fund manager who had helped fund USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino’s salary — “zeroed in on the officiating history of referee Raphael Claus,” with articles examining previous controversies involving Claus circulating among senior government officials as they evaluated every argument that could bolster the appeal.
-Emilio García — who oversees FIFA’s legal affairs — advised Infantino on the available procedural options and worked with other FIFA officials to determine whether the circumstances of Balogun’s tackle met the narrow standards required to revisit the disciplinary decision.
Sunday, July 5
-FIFA, insisting that the decision was an independent one made by its 18-person disciplinary committee, announced that Balogun’s one-game red card ban has been put on probation and thus suspended, making him eligible to play against Belgium on Monday Night
-FIFA did not say, however, whether the decision was decided through a vote, and it has not published a report on the decision.
USMNT fans seeing that Folarin Balogun can play against Belgium pic.twitter.com/fxQHAUSPgZ
— . (@tosinmm_) July 5, 2026
Speaking to the media on Sunday in a planned pre-match press conference, Pochettino did not shy away from defending the USMNT’s position in this situation.
“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,” the former Spurs and PSG boss said.
“Ultimately, we aren’t victims, but we aren’t the villains of this story either,” he concluded.
Belgium and UEFA, the governing body of European soccer, had the inverse reaction to the news, with the latter calling the ruling “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable.”
Balogun and the rest of the USMNT will face off against Belgium in the Round of 16 in Seattle on Monday, July 6 at 8 p.m. EST.