Uefa has launched a fierce attack on Fifa over its decision to overturn Folarin Balogun’s automatic one-match ban at the 2026 World Cup.
The United States striker was sent off during the group stage clash against Bosnia-Herzegovina and should have been suspended for Tuesday’s last-16 tie against Belgium.
Fifa instead opted not to enforce the ban, meaning the co-hosts’ leading goalscorer remains available for the knockout fixture, which kicks off at 01:00 BST.
Uefa described the intervention as “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable,” warning that the very integrity of the game is now under threat.
The governing body stated that an automatic one-match suspension “is not a discretionary option” and is “a principle embedded in regulations.”
“When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined,” Uefa said in a statement.
CBS News, the BBC’s US media partner, confirmed that Balogun’s reinstatement came after US president Donald Trump called Fifa president Gianni Infantino on Thursday to discuss the suspension.
On Sunday, President Trump publicly thanked Fifa for “reversing a great injustice,” drawing widespread condemnation from football authorities across Europe.
Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter wrote on X that “football must never become a playground for political power,” adding that “red cards are not overturned by political phone calls.”
Blatter posed a direct challenge to the current Fifa leadership, writing: “If a US President intervenes with the Fifa president – and a player is suddenly cleared before a World Cup knockout match – the question is unavoidable: Quo vadis, Fifa?”
Belgium’s foreign minister Maxime Prevot also weighed in, stating: “If a phone call is really the reason for this incomprehensible decision, it would be a blatant violation of the most basic rules of football and sport.”
The Belgian Football Association said it was “astonished” by the ruling, and reports suggest Belgium have been granted the unprecedented right to appeal against the decision before the match.
England head coach Thomas Tuchel expressed total confusion over the disciplinary process, particularly given that Jarell Quansah was sent off in England’s 3-2 win over Mexico.
Quansah faces a suspension for Saturday’s quarter-final against Norway, and Tuchel questioned whether he could now petition Fifa to have the red card cancelled in similar fashion.
“Where does this start and where does this end now?” Tuchel said. “Can we overturn it or not overturn it? What’s going on?”
Tuchel also pointed to other contentious decisions throughout the tournament, referencing bookings shown to Declan Rice and France’s Michael Olise as further examples of inconsistency.
“We just want to have consistency in the decisions,” Tuchel said, adding: “I don’t know the rules. I am the wrong person to ask. I will wait and see what’s coming.”
Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia did not hold back either, saying: “I didn’t know that at the Fifa World Cup 5 July is now 1 April, and that is April Fool’s. We are not defending the national team or the federation, we’re defending football.”
Of the 188 red cards issued across the tournament’s history, only one other player has previously escaped a suspension, that being Brazil’s Garrincha in 1962 before automatic bans were introduced.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport has set up an ad hoc division to hear swift and independent appeals against decisions made at the tournament, should Belgium choose to escalate further.
