By GrahamDunbar
The Associated Press
July 6, 2026 - 6:21 am
GENEVA — An all-time contention successful the World Cup’s 96-year past was raging Monday up of the co-host United States facing Belgium with a quarterfinals spot astatine stake.
European shot assemblage UEFA criticized FIFA for an “incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision” to fto U.S guardant Folarin Balogun play contempt getting a reddish paper successful his erstwhile game — a shocking determination made Sunday aft unit connected the satellite shot body’s person Gianni Infantino from his adjacent ally, U.S. President Donald Trump.
UEFA said successful a connection FIFA “crossed a reddish line” with its determination not to enforce Balogun’s mandatory one-game prohibition for his foul tackle against Bosnia-Herzegovina past Wednesday.
FIFA’s ruling Sunday — to defer Balogun’s prohibition for 1 twelvemonth of probation — deviated from soccer’s accepted regularisation of instrumentality and drew stinging disapproval globally including from erstwhile World Cup stars and coaches astatine this tournament.
“It’s a bad, bad, bad, bad, atrocious determination that volition wounded the World Cup,” Norway manager Ståle Solbakken said Sunday aft his squad bushed Brazil to scope the quarterfinals.
UEFA, whose subordinate federations see Belgium, insisted: “Sometimes rules are unfastened to interpretation. In this lawsuit not.”
“When the certainty of rules is nary longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the crippled is astatine involvement and the credibility of a contention is undermined,” said the European shot body, which has often clashed with Infantino during his decennary successful FIFA power.
“We explicit our disbelief astatine specified an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision,” said UEFA, wherever Infantino was its CEO-like wide caput from 2009 until being elected to pb FIFA successful February 2016.
FIFA was asked Monday to remark connected the UEFA criticism.
Infantino’s predecessor Sepp Blatter, who was forced from bureau successful 2015 successful fallout from corruption scandals, posted Monday connected societal media: “Red cards are not overturned by governmental telephone calls. They are overturned by rules, grounds and autarkic bodies.”
The Belgian shot federation was preparing an entreaty successful Seattle successful the aboriginal hours of Monday to situation the Balogun ruling earlier a FIFA-appointed appeals judge. The circular of 16 crippled against the U.S. is owed to footwear disconnected astatine 5 p.m. section time.
Balogun’s tackle
Balogun was sent disconnected straight for planting his cleated ft connected the ankle of Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic during a 2-0 triumph for the U.S. successful the circular of 32.
That benignant of situation has been a regular reddish paper each play successful competitions worldwide, and Balogun could person expected a two-game prohibition for superior foul play nether the FIFA disciplinary code.
Still, akin challenges by prima players person gone unpunished astatine this World Cup — by Lionel Messi for Argentina against Algeria and Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi vs. Brazil. Bernardo Silva of Portugal got conscionable a yellowish paper against Congo.
“I deliberation a yellowish paper would person been fair,” Balogun aboriginal suggested.
FIFA’s interventions
This World Cup has been singular for FIFA nether Infantino seeming to rewrite the norms of disciplinary enactment adjacent earlier the tourney began.
A signifier of pardons opened FIFA to suggestions of enforcement involution successful the statutory independency of its judicial bodies, including the disciplinary committee that formally reprieved Balogun.
Cristiano Ronaldo was cleared to play successful Portugal’s opening World Cup crippled contempt getting a reddish paper for superior foul play successful a qualifying crippled against Ireland past November. He struck an hostile with an elbow.
Ronaldo served his mandatory prohibition successful Portugal’s last qualifying crippled but helium was reprieved from an expected two-game prohibition due to the fact that FIFA introduced the thought of probation. An imposed three-game prohibition was little meaningful arsenic 2 games were deferred during a one-year probationary period.
At the opening crippled connected June 11, South Africa’s Themba Zwane got a reddish paper against Mexico for a akin discourtesy to Ronaldo’s and FIFA imposed a three-game prohibition with nary probation. Zwane did not play again astatine the World Cup.
Three players sent disconnected successful their teams’ qualifying games past twelvemonth were amazingly told by FIFA successful May they could service their bans successful a aboriginal contention alternatively of astatine the World Cup, which was the long-standing norm.
Ecuador midfielder Moisés Caicedo, Argentina defender Nicolás Otamendi and Qatar defender Tarek Salman each had their bans waived for the World Cup.
US exceptionalism
This, FIFA said successful May, was to guarantee teams “can vie with their strongest imaginable squads connected the biggest signifier of men’s planetary football.”
The Balogun determination simply took this argumentation further, though not for different players shown a reddish paper truthful acold who were mandated to miss astatine slightest 1 game.
“It is simply a rule embedded successful regulations, which cannot beryllium made taxable to exceptions,” UEFA said, “let unsocial successful the mediate of a tourney wherever respective different players person been successful the aforesaid concern and regularly served their suspension.”
English (US)·