Balogun was set to miss USA vs Belgium last-16 tie but will now be available as FIFA surprisingly ends his suspension. Published On 5 Jul 20265 Jul 2026In a surprising turnaround, FIFA has suspended the one-match ban on United States’ striker Folarin Balogun, ensuring his availability for the cohost’s World Cup last 16 match against Belgium.Balogun stepped on the right ankle of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Tarik Muharemovic during the Round of 32 match that USA won 2-0. He received a red card, which also ruled the in-form forward out of USA’s next fixture against Belgium – until FIFA announced its U-turn on Sunday.“In line with article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, the implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year,” said a FIFA statement.“If Folarin Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.”The judicial body has the discretion to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary sanction.Shortly after FIFA’s announcement, US President Donald Trump thanked football’s world governing body.“Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.Unsurprisingly, the US football body welcomed FIFA’s decision to allow their leading World Cup goal scorer to play in the crucial knockout match.“We accept the decision of the Disciplinary Committee and are pleased that Folarin Balogun is eligible to compete tomorrow,” US Soccer said in a statement. Advertisement The 25-year-old, who has scored three goals in his four matches during the tournament, said on Friday that a yellow card instead of red would have been a fairer penalisation for his action.“There’s nowhere else to put …
