FIFA suspends ban on US striker Balogun following Trump phone call with Infantino

According to the US Soccer Federation, the decision was accepted. The association stated: "Unsere gesamte Aufmerksamkeit gilt nun dem Achtelfinalspiel gegen Belgien in Seattle, und wir freuen uns auf die weitere Unterstützung unserer großartigen Fans." US head coach Mauricio Pochettino said the sending-off had never been a red card for him: "Für mich ist das niemals eine Rote Karte. Es war zu keinem Zeitpunkt seine Absicht, den Spieler zu treffen. Es war eine im Fußball ganz normale Aktion."

Reactions from the US team and federation

The 25-year-old Balogun, who plays as a center forward for AS Monaco, is one of the US team's most important offensive players alongside Christian Pulisic. In the current tournament he scored two goals in the group stage as well as one against Bosnia-Herzegovina. After the announcement he posted a photo of himself in a US jersey on social media without adding any text.

According to several people familiar with the matter, the surprising turn is due to a direct request from US President Donald Trump. According to matching reports from the New York Times, The Athletic, and the Associated Press, Trump called FIFA President Gianni Infantino personally in order to bring about the lifting of the ban. Neither FIFA nor the White House has commented on the phone call.

Trump's call to Infantino and political reactions

Trump reacted shortly after the announcement of the decision on the platform Truth Social and thanked the world governing body: "Danke an die FIFA, dass sie das Richtige getan hat und eine große Ungerechtigkeit rückgängig gemacht hat." The official account of the White House celebrated the decision on X with "USA-USA-USA" and an eagle emoji. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in the White House press room that the US had been "beschissen behandelt worden" and called for an appeals process.

On the Belgian side, the decision met with sharp criticism. The Royal Belgian Football Association (KBVB) expressed "erstaunt" and announced it would examine all possible options: "Um die legitimen Rechte aller teilnehmenden Mannschaften zu wahren und die grundlegenden Prinzipien des Fairplay in unserem Sport sowohl bei dieser FIFA-Weltmeisterschaft als auch bei künftigen Auflagen des Turniers zu schützen, prüft der KBVB derzeit alle potenziellen Optionen." The association pointed to Article 66.4 and Article 10.5 of the FIFA Disciplinary Regulations, according to which a red card in principle carries an automatic suspension for the next match.

Belgium's sharp protest and reference to the regulations

Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia reacted with biting irony to the decision: "Ich wusste nicht, dass bei der FIFA-Weltmeisterschaft der 5. Juli mittlerweile der 1. April und damit Aprilscherz-Tag ist." Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois noted that the players would focus solely on the match. Defender Timothy Castagne remarked that while the US team could count on more fan support, the pressure could also turn.

According to the Belgian association, FIFA had sent out a circular before the start of the tournament expressly pointing to the automatic suspension for a red card. With all previous sendings-off at this World Cup, this rule had been applied consistently. With the current decision, the suspension of a ban at this final round is unprecedented.

Rules: Article 27 and the probation period

FIFA itself did not comment on request from Sportschau regarding the specific reasoning for the suspension in this case. According to the Disciplinary Regulations, Article 27 provides for a probation period of one to four years for a suspended sanction. If the person concerned commits another offense of a similar nature and severity during this period, the suspension is revoked and the sanction enforced. Disciplinary measures related to match manipulation are expressly excluded from a possible suspension.

Legally, the construction is reminiscent of an earlier case involving Portuguese captain Cristiano Ronaldo. After a red card in a World Cup qualifier against Ireland in November, he had initially been handed a three-match ban. He served only the subsequent qualifier against Armenia; the remaining matches were suspended for one year on probation, allowing Ronaldo to play in Portugal's first World Cup matches.

Comparison to the Cristiano Ronaldo case

US defender Chris Richards reported that the team had initially not been sure whether the news about the lifting of the ban was actually true and had learned of it through social media. "Wir waren uns nicht ganz sicher, ob es wahr ist oder nicht. Ich denke, jeder weiß, wie das mit KI ist. Am Ende haben wir es über Social Media herausgefunden. Es war cool, die Bestätigung zu bekommen, dass es stimmt."

Player Christian Pulisic assessed the news as positive reinforcement for the team, saying the decision would "uns offensichtlich einen Schub geben". Sergino Dest emphasized: "Wir spielen richtig gut, sind alle top motiviert, und das Land glaubt daran - jeder glaubt daran." Midfielder Tyler Adams added: "Als Mannschaft wollen wir unsere Spuren hinterlassen. Wir wissen: Je weiter wir kommen, umso mehr wird das Spiel wachsen."

Outlook: Round of 16 in Seattle

The Round of 16 match between the USA and Belgium takes place on Tuesday and will be broadcast live in Germany on ServusTV (kickoff 2:00 a.m.) and in Switzerland on SRF zwei (kickoff 1:50 a.m.). The venue is Lumen Field in Seattle. The two teams meet as part of the World Championship held in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.

Belgium had qualified for the Round of 16 with a 3:2 win after extra time against Senegal, with Kevin De Bruyne not featuring and Romelu Lukaku coming on at halftime. The Belgian team, ranked ninth in the FIFA World Ranking, is considered a representative of the so-called Golden Generation and finished third in 2014 in Brazil.

In a friendly match at the end of March in Atlanta, Belgium had still beaten the USA 5:2. US coach Pochettino had described that defeat at the time as a "guten Reality-Check". Dest explained in this regard that in a friendly things are tried out, which is why the match is not a direct benchmark.

Politically, the incident is attracting international attention. The fact that a sitting US president, according to his own statements, intervened directly with FIFA to influence a disciplinary decision in favor of his own national team is unprecedented in the history of the World Cup. The Belgian side explicitly reserves the right to take further steps. According to the current state of affairs, Trump is expected at the stadium no earlier than the final on July 19 in East Rutherford near New York.