Folarin Balogun will play on Monday. That much is now official after FIFA announced it has suspended the USMNT striker’s one-match ban for a full year, effectively letting him suit up against Belgium in the Round of 16. But the decision has the other sideline furious and openly questioning whether the fix is in for the host nation.
Balogun was shown a straight red card in the 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina after stepping on Tarik Muharemovic’s ankle. Replays showed incidental contact, not a malicious stomp. Still, the red stood. Until it didn’t.
Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia didn’t hold back when asked about the ruling.
“I didn’t know that at the World Cup the fifth of July is actually the first of April,” Garcia told reporters, per Yahoo Sports. “It’s April Fools.”
He wasn’t joking. Garcia made it clear he believes the decision smells like special treatment for the United States as the tournament host.
“We’re not defending the national team or federation, we are defending football,” Garcia said. The implication being that FIFA bent its own disciplinary process to keep a star player on the field for the home crowd.
Trump called Infantino. Then the ban got suspended.
Here’s where it gets complicated. President Donald Trump reportedly called FIFA President Gianni Infantino shortly after the red card was issued and asked the governing body to review the play. Days later, FIFA announced the suspension of Balogun’s ban. Not an overturn. A suspension. Meaning the one-game penalty still exists but won’t be enforced for 12 months unless he gets sent off again before then.
That kind of timeline tends to raise eyebrows. Especially when the phone records (or at least the reports of them) line up with the outcome.
Balogun leads the USMNT with three goals in this World Cup. He’s been the most dangerous American attacker on the pitch and losing him for a knockout game against Belgium would have been a massive blow. Now he’ll start at Seattle Stadium on Monday night.
Belgium has to adjust on short notice
Garcia and his staff spent days preparing for a US attack without Balogun. Now they have to scrap that plan and figure out how to contain a forward who’s been in top form. It’s not an impossible task but it’s a significant one with less than 72 hours before kickoff.
The game itself already carried huge weight. USMNT hosting a knockout match in a domestic World Cup with a chance to reach the quarterfinals — that’s not nothing. Add a controversial red card reversal and a phone call from the White House and you’ve got a storyline that won’t go away no matter what happens on the field.
Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET Monday. Balogun will be out there. Garcia and Belgium will have to deal with it.
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