FIFA clearing Folarin Balogun to play for the United States against Belgium one day before their World Cup knockout match was always going to send the soccer world into hysterics.
The situation was practically engineered for an international soccer meltdown, with a controversial red card, a suspended one-match ban, reportedly getting involved and the United States getting its leading scorer back just in time.
But while the reaction has been loud, the central claim coming from some critics â that FIFA just invented a brand-new loophole for the Americans â is not quite right.
Balogun was initially expected to miss Mondays Round of 16 match after being shown a red card in the Americans win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. The card came after a VAR review determined Balogun had stepped on the ankle of Bosnia defender Tarik Muharemovic.
The call was controversial from the beginning. U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said it was unjust, and midfielder Weston McKennie questioned the decision after the match.
“Obviously the referee made a decision that he made, but I think its questionable,” McKennie said. “I think theres been many other plays like that throughout the tournament on other players that a card wasnt given at all. Its disappointing.”
Balogun later said he thought a yellow card “would have been fair.”
Still, under FIFA rules, a red card generally triggers an automatic one-match suspension. That is why Balogun was expected to be unavailable against Belgium.
Then FIFA stepped in.
The governing body suspended the implementation of Baloguns automatic suspension for a one-year probationary period, which means he is eligible to play Monday night. If Balogun receives another red card during that probationary period, the suspended sanction can be enforced along with any additional punishment.
Europe, naturally, handled this decision with great composure and perspective.
Just kidding.
Belgiums federation said it was “astonished.” UEFA claimed FIFA had “crossed a red line.” Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter wrote, “Red cards are not overturned by political phone calls. They are overturned by rules, evidence and independent bodies.”
That last part sounds nice. It also leaves out the inconvenient detail that FIFA relied on an actual rule in its disciplinary code.
As OutKick previously reported, FIFA cited Article 27, which allows a judicial body to “fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure.” In other words, FIFA did not necessarily erase the red card. It just suspended enforcement of the automatic ban.
This is where the “unprecedented” argument starts to fall apart. Because FIFA has recently used the same basic mechanism for a much bigger name: Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo received a red card against Ireland in a World Cup qualifier in 2025, which initially put him in danger of missing World Cup matches for Portugal. Instead, FIFA used Article 27 to suspend
