Not sure if that's so but that's what is being reported.

Like. I'd be okay with it if they reversed jahrell quansahs red card too. And the rest after they've missed a game. Hell just change the rules. Banning a player an entire tournament over something relatively minor is dumb.

against Belgium (and even worse if he scores or assists a goal or goals) the USMNT will be massively tainted for ages. FIFA already is. The game's integrity is on the line.

As a life-long footie fan, I am appalled at the corruption.

Thanks for the clarification!

Yeah I mean if they are gonna reverse one reverse all.. enough with this special treatment bullshit

1986 Argentina still claims the World Cup when they won with BLATANT CHEATING by Maradonna on the game deciding goal...the "Hand of God" is infamous to this date, but the players were celebrated and still legitimately call them selves "World Cup Champions - 1986" despite that controversy...

They are forever shackled with the 'cheaters' label.

Yes, the second Maradona goal of that 1986 game was arguably the greatest goal in WC history, but the stench of the illegal handball goal will never be removed.

The USMNT needs to do the right thing and not play Balogun in this upcoming game.

Win or lose it is the right thing to do. Not giving a toss about the integrity and employing 'the ends justify the means' as a modus operandi simply will further serve to vilify and entrench the US in the eyes of the world as a bully and a cheat, a nation that always demands 'rules for thee, never for me' special treatment.

is a lot less severe than an example of FIFA succumbing to pressure to change a legitimate decision.

Everything Trump touches, dies (except him and his grifter family).

red cards in football do not require intent

Trump was really quick to do this. I'm pretty sure he got the idea from somewhere.

I'm not a sports person (except I love my Spurs and I follow a few Olympic sports) and I'm not following the world cup. However, if world leaders have been doing this years, then it shows that the sport is rigged. I know that FIFA is corrupt and I saw most of a documentary about it on Netflix a few years ago.

😒 🤔

nt

The guy didn't deserve a red card in the first place, so the punishment was beyond extreme. So it's one of those two wrongs don't make a right thing.

Fans of Team USA were rightfully ticked off he was red carded in the first place, but Belgium fans are likewise totally justified that his serving the suspension ALSO being delayed is a miscarriage of justice.

There are lots of things people wish they could go back and undo but that isn't how it works.

The decision was a red card, doesn't require our agreement and he should serve the penalty like anyone else that has been given a red card during the world cup.

Him playing would send the wrong message to the world and taint any success we might have in the game tonight.

Wasn’t even called a foul on the field. The “offense” was inadvertent. The call stinks of an attempt to hamstring the US’s top player.

So does every other country that got a red card get to cry about it and get changed for them too?

What if they don't think the score is fair?
Do we get FIFA to award us extra goals so we can win?

It is destroying what is left of the integrity of the game.

Those are the ones who need to explain themselves and be held accountable.

It had no business being a red card to begin with and that ref should be admonished big time. It was a yellow at best. The foul was purely unintentional and the sort of thing that, while really bad, happens in a hard-fought game. Which brings the question, did you SEE the game, and the foul?

IMNSHO, Gianni Infantino has no business being president of FIFA, any more than Shitler has being president of the US, But here we are.

That's part of any sport.

Just as Trump does with judges when he doesn't like their decisions, he threw his considerable weight around. That's the only real difference here.

Along with the fact that Trump could deport this guy's family, and move him to the top of the deport-birthright-citizens list.

The referee actually went to the video replay system, watched Balogun and Muharemovic get tangled up fighting for the ball and Muharemovic accidentally get stepped on, and red carded him for an obviously accidental move.

Complain to FIFA or to TSF. It's not Balogun's fault.

Should every player have refused to play in Qatar or Russia because those countries have horrible human rights records? What about the decades of corruption in FIFA?

Or is it only because we hate Trump so much that we think he's the only bad thing in the world? Stop being so obsessed with Trump that you have to position everything as a fuck you to Trump. He's not worth that much of your energy.

is corrupt, period.

They need to update their rules to allow for challenges. Even the NBA and the NFL allow for coachs' challenges now. Also, I can see why red cards will get you kicked out of the game, but why the next game too? It's not like he punched someone. These ridiculous rules are the reason we have such controversies.

That are due to a player that acted in a overly reckless and dangerous manner.

Red cards exist because often the act they are being carded for doing either lead to a serious injury of the other player or could have lead to a serious injury of another player.

Sometimes it's for behavior as well.

The point of the game suspension is to not allow teams to benefit from dangerous and reckless play by losing the player for a game or more. Some suspensions can last for three or more games in regular season play.

Same kind of thing I read here yesterday: blame the kids for their obnoxious parents.

I feel very sorry for Balogun and the US Men, but I’m not surprised since the FIFA pEaCE pwIzE made it clear from the beginning we were watching a clown show.

UEFA could be weighing a complete break with FIFA. I hope that’s what this leads to.

They have reviewed the "Hand of God" and (RIGHTLY) determined that Maradona CHEATED BLATANTLY and the goal that was allowed should not have been:

He's already been effectively acquitted because it was determined there was no intent.
I'm no soccer expert but it sure didn't look intentional to me.
So, he should sit out because he accidentally collided with an opponent which happens 25 times per game anyway?
I don't understand the fascination with relitigating this and punishing the player, the team, & the fans.
He didn't do a thing to get the suspension rescinded. He didn't even whine about before it was lifted.
Now, he should punish himself?
You're letting The Failure's involvement transfer the stench of corruption to a guy that just plays soccer.

Try again.
Your reply has nothing to do with the issue at hand.
Oh, and I may be American & older but I knew what you posted.

I’m not able to determine if it was a “good” or “bad” call by the officials. However, I think what has people concerned and upset isn’t necessarily the red card itself, but the appearance that Trump simply waved a finger and it went away. That he somehow has direct influence over outcomes on the field. Whether that’s true or not I can’t say but it’s not hard to understand how the international football community of fans and media etc could quickly draw that conclusion.

I just disagree that it is relevant.
Do I think a head of state should insert him/herself in this way? No.
Do I think this was just a cynical effort by The Failure to look important, influential & "'Murcan"? Yes, for sure.
Still has nothing to do with whether a guy whose suspension was rescinded should play, especially since I didn't think suspension was warranted in the first place.
It's just a game. Let the players do what they do & ignore the behind the scenes nonsense. It's already known as a cesspool of corruption. Once we sent a team to this tournament there is no moral high ground.

That is what you are saying. That trans should only have to follow the rules when they want but can ignore them at will.

What kind of game is it when teams can just ignore rules whenever they don't like a decision that went against them?

What about all the other teams that got red cards or even yellow cards?
I mean what if I don't agree with the score?

I mean I would love for FIFA to change the score in the Netherlands last game so they actually win. I demand FIFA award Netherlands 10 automatic goals in that game because I think that is only fair.

Last edited Mon Jul 6, 2026, 12:56 PM - Edit history (1)

The card was BS. Yellow, sure, but Red?

Red requires "intentionality" and "brutality". Neither were present in that foul - Balogan landed on the Tarik Muharemović's ankle coming down from a jump. It was unavoidable. It looks 10x worse in slow-motion on VAR than in real time. The Bosnian player was fine. He played the rest of the game.

Trump called Infantino, sure. He wasn't the only one - USMNT had to ask formally for a review.

Ref who gave Folarin Balogun a red card was previously accused of match fixing - Yahoo Sports https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/ref-gave-folarin-balogun-red-141514316.html

RIGGED!

Yet here we are...

Because yes, that is the way of FIFA.

That is not how the world cup works. There are no reviews or appeals in World Cup games.

So should other teams demand changes in their red cards too? How about yellow cards?

How about their scores they don't like? Should teams that lost get to demand FIFA award them additional goals so they can win and stay in the tournament?

Doesn't matter if any of us agrees with the red card or not, it did not require our agreement.

That was the decision and that's it. Continuing to cry about it looks pathetic and makes us look like spoiled and entitled brats.

It has to be from all of them.

No apologies needed for FIFA correcting an error

Even if the US team wins this round, it will be forever orange tainted.

I think the call was flimsy, and the reversal was a thousand times flimsier. But if he’s allowed to play, he should play. It’s a game.

Everybody knows for a fact that anyone who disagrees with them is wrong.

Not according to the rules, he didn’t.

And mustard still tastes the same as it did last week.

K&R

This was just a suspension of the red card. He would still have to serve a one game suspension at some point during this tournament.

What about the other people that have got red cards in this tournament? I'm sure they don't agree with those red cards either.
I mean England had a player get a red card yesterday and they won but they will have to play their next game without that player.

Is that fair to them? I mean they don't agree with that red card either and they don't want their guy suspended either.
Why can't they get the same special treatment or is it only when Americans don't agree with a ruling?

is if the game goes to kicks after 120 minutes, at that point it really won't matter if Balogun played or not unless he scored/set up several goals or had a dramatic late equalizer.

Maradona‘s goal against England in the World Cup, Henry’s goal against Ireland in the qualifiers against Ireland. Long after the results could not be changed both admitted they scored key goals illegally.

However, to be fair when was the last time you saw a player in the World Series tell the umpire no that was a strike I’m out. Or a (American) football player saying I did not have control of the ball until it hit the ground. The pass should be incomplete.

So this is the "others cheated in the past so that makes it ok" rationale.

The issue is very straightforward: he got a red card. That's it. No other arguments.

It's a one game suspension. They didn't void the red card, it still stands and he still has to serve a one game suspension no matter what.

What FIFA is doing is carving out a special exception, just for him, to keep playing while the US is in the tournament and once they are out, he would have to serve a one game suspension back in his regular league play.

No other countries have been given that capability.

You are singling out a single player for integrity will ignoring the mass of players and multiple sports who have even less integrity.

It is within the FIFA rules to give him probation rather than a one game suspension. It is not a special exception it has been given to others. He will not have to serve the suspension with his league. International play and league play are two entirely separate situations.

By rule, Ronaldo should have had to sit out Portugal‘s first two matches. He was given the same terms as the US player and he played in both games. I did not notice anyone calling out Ronaldo for lacking integrity and saying he should’ve sat out.

This happened during the world cup.
No player that was given a red card during the world cup is getting to avoid serving their one game suspension.

I mean an England player got a red card yesterday and England won. Should they get their one game suspension suspended?

Red card is a red card, serve the damn one game suspension and move the fuck on.

It's absolutely ridiculous for people to be crying about this like spoiled children.

Per FIFA rules that mandates a three match band in international play. He sat out one game, the last qualifier, which was meaningless by that point and his remaining suspension was changed to probation, allowing him to play in the World Cup.

I don’t believe the English player should have his rescinded because it was clearly serious foul play. I believe the Mexico goalkeeper should have been reviewed for a possible red card when he took down the English player inside the 18 yard box.

If you were to ask Iran, they would say Belgium should not be in the game either because they were robbed on an offside goal and Iran should be in the knockout rather than Belgium. No one is questioning Belgium‘s right to be where they are.

My personal opinion, is you play the game the calls go your way or not and you let the chips fall where they may. I think Ronaldo should’ve had to sit two games Balogun should sit out this game and Messi got lucky because the name on the back of his jersey is Messi

My objection is everybody is singling out one US player and falsely claiming his situation is unique.

Because the leader of his country called the head of FIFA to get the penalty overturned.

Fruit of the poison tree and all that.

but we also do not know it didn't.

I agree that does taint the probation even if that is what FIFA was going to do anyway.

The refs and umpires on the other hand.

You take whatever call the ref gives you. The only exception is collusion.

The red card still stands and he still has to serve a one game suspension at some point.

This was a special exception given just to the US team for him to keep playing and once they are out of the world cup, when he goes back to regular season play, he will have to serve a one game suspension.
No other team was given that option for their players that for a red card.