Trump, FIFA and Balogun: the controversy that shook the 2026 World Cup

Congratulations to everyone. We reached 24 days of the World Cup without Donald Trump having much to do with the tournament. However, this Monday (6), despite all the incredible goals scored and all the dramatic narratives told, the very integrity of the tournament is being questioned due to the apparent actions of one man and his dangerously close relationship with the FIFA president.

"I didn't think it was foul," Trump told reporters on Monday about an incident that took over the world.

You can probably tell from the introduction that I don't like the fact that this brilliant and turbulent World Cup has been dragged into this kind of controversy. Everything was going so well. It seemed like not even the politicians could screw it up this time.

If you missed this news, here's a quick summary to catch you up. During the USA's round of 16 game against Bosnia and Herzegovina, striker Folarin Balogun was sent off for fouling an opponent.

He didn't mean to do what he did, but his foot ended up grazing a defender's leg, which could have caused a serious injury. Either way, he was sent off and FIFA pointed to a rule in their regulations that stated that Balogun would miss the next game upon serving his mandatory one-match suspension.

US Soccer said it could not appeal the suspension and began to come up with a plan on how to beat Belgium tonight without its leading goalscorer.

Just yesterday, FIFA decided to suspend the one-match ban for a year, allowing Balogun to play in the round of 16 match and the remainder of the tournament.

Trump enters the game
As soon as the news broke, most people wondered what could have happened. And everything indicates that they were right. Donald Trump thanked FIFA for "reversing a great injustice" at Truth Social, and a source familiar with the matter told CNN that the president spoke with FIFA President Gianni Infantino and asked him to review the decision.

Infantino and the football federation appear to have given in to political interference - although, obviously, very few of us will ever actually know what happened. It's a move that not only calls into question the integrity of the tournament, but also undermines all the hard work the U.S. team has put in.

It's safe to say that many around the world are now rooting for this incredible US team to lose to Belgium, and that contempt has nothing to do with the players.

So what did FIFA really say? Well, the entity's disciplinary committee chose to cite and use Article 27 of its disciplinary code, which establishes that it "may decide to totally or partially suspend the execution of a disciplinary measure" for a period of "one to four years". In simple terms, this means that Balogun will not miss any more games if he does not commit another similar red card offense next year.

Similar FIFA cases
This is not the first time that FIFA has suspended a punishment for red card infractions. Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo was able to play in the opening game of his team's World Cup campaign because FIFA postponed two games of his three-match, one-year suspension.

In addition, prior to the tournament, the FIFA Council Bureau amended its World Cup regulations to allow several players facing short suspensions to participate, in order to allow countries to "compete with their strongest possible squads".

Argentine defender Nicolás Otamendi and Ecuadorian midfielder Moisés Caicedo had their one-game suspensions postponed for a one-year probationary period, making them available for the start of this tournament.

However, these examples did not occur during the tournament itself, raising concerns about a new precedent for World Cups going forward.

World of football reacts
The federation's decision generated a huge reaction in the world of football, including tonight's opponent. Belgium coach Rudi Garcia told reporters he thought it was a joke, and the Belgian football federation said the red card suspension was in "direct contradiction" to tournament rules.

Football legend Wayne Rooney was less diplomatic, calling FIFA's decision an "absolute disgrace" and labeling it "unfair". British commentator Piers Morgan said it would go down in history as the "biggest, and potential, scandal of the World Cup".

European football's governing body UEFA said FIFA had "crossed a red line" in an explosive statement on Monday morning.

"When the certainty of the rules is no longer guaranteed by their guardians, the integrity of the game is at risk and the credibility of a competition is compromised. We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision," UEFA told CNN.

It's hard to imagine any other team in this tournament successfully reversing decisions simply because their government got involved. I think this calls into question whether this version of FIFA is even fit to manage the sport.

Uefa blasts FIFA for releasing Balogun for the World Cup: "He crossed a red line"

Source: CNN