UEFA criticized FIFA's decision to lift the suspension on American national team player Folarin Balogun.
The American national team is scheduled to face its Belgian counterpart at 3 a.m. Tuesday, Cairo time, in the round of 16 matches of the World Cup.
UEFA issued a statement in which it explained that lifting the suspension on Balogun crossed the red line and harms the competition.
UEFA's statement was as follows:
"Yesterday's decision to suspend the application of the automatic one-match suspension for a one-year trial period after the red card issued against player Folarin Balogun has crossed the red line.
Football, like other sports, relies on rules that form the basis of fair and transparent competition. Some rules may be subject to interpretation, but not in this case. The automatic suspension of at least one match after a red card is not a discretionary option, nor does it require a decision from a competent authority. It is a well-established principle in the regulations, and no clause may be exempted from it, especially in the middle of a tournament where many players have already faced the same situation and served their suspensions regularly.
When those in charge of the rules do not ensure their consistency, the integrity of the game is at stake, and the credibility of the competition is endangered. This decision also sets a precedent in the ongoing tournament, where similar situations will require equal treatment, which harms the competition.
Football is the most popular sport in the world for its beauty and because it enjoys widespread trust for applying unified laws throughout the world. No tournament is isolated from others, and if the tournament in question is the World Cup, it is capable of having positive or negative effects on the game as a whole.
We express our strong astonishment at this unprecedented, incomprehensible, and unjustified decision."
What happened?
Balogun was sent off during the match against Bosnia due to a strong tackle on the foot of Bosnian player Tarek Mehremović with a direct red card after the referee reviewed the video technology.
Consequently, it was expected that the player would miss the match against Belgium in the round of 16 due to the suspension.
After the match, according to "The Athletic" network, a FIFA official told them that "no national team has the right to appeal to object to a player's sending off in the World Cup".
But 24 hours before the match, FIFA's disciplinary committee issued a decision to suspend the suspension of the American striker and top scorer with 3 goals in the 2026 World Cup.
Journalist Ben Jacobs indicated that the White House made a direct call to FIFA to ask Infantino to review the red card.
Then US President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social account: "Thank you FIFA for doing the right thing and correcting a great injustice".
A FIFA source told Jacobs that any influence from the White House cannot affect the decision, due to the powers granted by Article 27 as well as the independence of the disciplinary committee that issued the decision.
The American national team is preparing to face Belgium tomorrow, Monday, in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup.
