The Athletic network revealed the decision-maker to lift the suspension on American Folarin Balogun, before facing Belgium in the 2026 World Cup.
Balogun had been sent off during the United States national team's match against the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team in the 64th minute due to a violent tackle after reviewing the video technology, before returning to the field to celebrate with his teammates despite his sending off.
FIFA explained that it opened an investigation the next day on the grounds of the player's violation of Articles 66 (related to sending off and suspension) and 14 (misconduct), before the Disciplinary Committee issued its decision on July 5.
The committee decided to suspend the player for one match with a suspended execution for one year, in addition to fining him $40,000, with the United States Federation bearing joint responsibility for paying the fine.
The Athletic reported that the decision to lift the suspension on Balogun was individual from the head of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, the Emirati Mohammed Al-Kamali.
It indicated that Al-Kamali made his decision individually without consulting the rest of the members.
The FIFA Disciplinary Committee consists of 18 members.
Al-Kamali is of Emirati nationality, and he is the first Arab and Asian figure to hold the position of head of the Disciplinary Committee at the international federation, and he was officially assigned to that position during the World Cup finals.
FIFA stated in a statement lifting the suspension on the American player that the suspension penalty automatically included his absence from the match against the Belgian national team, but its execution was suspended based on Article 27 of the Disciplinary Regulations.
Thus, the suspension will not be executed unless the player commits a similar violation during the probation period, while the decision remains suspended.
FIFA stressed that its decision did not include canceling the red card, but rather keeping it while only suspending the execution of the suspension, confirming that the Disciplinary Committee is an independent body and makes its decisions in accordance with the regulations.
It also clarified that the use of Article 27 is not a precedent, as it has been applied before in similar situations, and that the regulations do not prevent resorting to it as long as it does not involve match-fixing.
The United States national team bid farewell to the World Cup in the round of 16 after losing to Belgium 4-1.
