England defender Jarell Quansah is suspended for two World Cup games after FIFA handed down the ban following his straight red card against Mexico. The open-studs challenge caught the Mexican player high on the shin, and the referee didn’t hesitate. Now Quansah is out for England’s next two matches, not just the one.
But here’s where it gets weird. Fans are now dragging King Charles into it.
Fabrizio Romano broke the news about the two-game ban, and the replies immediately went sideways. People started comparing Quansah’s situation to what happened with USMNT striker Folarin Balogun earlier in the tournament. Balogun got a red card too, but his suspension was postponed after U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to push for a review of the appeal. Balogun ended up playing in the Round of 16 loss to Belgium. That 4-1 defeat stung, but he was on the field for it.
Social media wants the monarchy involved
Now, with Quansah facing a two-game sit, fans are flooding social media with jokes about getting King Charles to make the same kind of call. The logic is simple, if a little absurd. Trump called Infantino and got Balogun’s suspension pushed back. So why not have the King of England do the same for Quansah?
Some of the comments are genuinely funny.
“King charles or starmer needs to call infantino.”
“The king of England has to call Infantino, other wise its a disaster.”
Others are more pointed, accusing FIFA of favoritism. Fans pointed out that worse challenges have gone unpunished in this tournament. One wrote, “Tell them it was Messi, will get the ban lifted and a free penalty next game.” Another said, “Wow typical corruption! They really want Argentina in the finals for the win. Where was Messi’s card?”
FIFA’s inconsistency is the real story
The Balogun case set a weird precedent. Trump claimed he personally called Infantino, and the suspension got postponed. No one outside FIFA knows exactly how that phone call went, but the result was clear. Balogun’s ban was delayed, and he played. Now, with Quansah, the FA still has time to appeal. But the optics aren’t great. It looks like who you know matters as much as what you did.
Fans online have been sharing clips of other tackles from the tournament that were arguably worse than Quansah’s but didn’t draw a red card, let alone a multi-game suspension. The inconsistency is hard to ignore.
For now, Quansah is out. Whether the FA can pull off some kind of appeal or get a postponement like Balogun did remains to be seen. But one thing is already clear. King Charles probably isn’t making that call. And even if he did, Infantino might not pick up.
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