Cristiano Ronaldo has already benefited from the rule that released Balogun in the World Cup

Folarin Balogun will be able to reinforce the United States in the match against Belgium, in the round of 16 of the World Cup, even though he received a direct red card in the victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32.

The information was confirmed by FIFA this Sunday (5). In a statement, the entity informed that the player's automatic suspension was lifted based on article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.

The decision generated controversy among fans, but it was not taken for the first time. Last year, Cristiano Ronaldo managed to avoid a suspension in his World Cup debut for the same reason.

Ronaldo was sent off in the duel against Ireland, in Dublin, for the World Cup qualifiers in November 2025. The incident occurred after elbowing Dara O'Shea in the back, in Portugal's 2-0 defeat.

With the red card, the captain missed the last game of the group stage, in the 9-1 victory over Armenia, which guaranteed the Portuguese place.

FIFA suspended him for three matches, but soon after, he only kept two matches, under the same condition as Balogun. "In line with article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, performance of the remaining two matches has been suspended under a probationary period of one year," the organization said at the time.

"If Cristiano Ronaldo commits another infraction of a similar nature and severity during the probationary period, the suspension defined in the disciplinary decision will be automatically reinstated and the remaining two matches must be completed immediately in the next official game(s) of the Portuguese national team", he explained.

Without Germany, Brazil remains at the top of the list of World Cup champions

Source: CNN