‘If you win, it’s a stain’: Americans react to FIFA-Balogun controversy

Washington, DC, United States – FIFA’s decision to suspend the one-match ban on the USA’s Folarin Balogun, allowing the team’s leading goal scorer to play in their crucial last-16 World Cup match against Belgium, has stirred controversy hours ahead of the game.

The row and ensuing uproar deepened on Monday when US President Donald Trump confirmed that he had asked FIFA to review its decision against Balogun, with world football’s governing body ultimately making a U-turn on the player’s suspension from the crucial fixture.

Was FIFA’s decision the result of an unfair power move from Trump, or was it a warranted correction to a red card that should not have been issued in the first place?

It depends on who you ask.

Football fans of the cohost nation appear to be divided.

While there is near consensus that the red card Balogun received against Bosnia and Herzegovina was harsh, not everyone agrees with Trump’s intervention.

“I think it’s bull****,” Cesar Espino, who was watching the Spain vs Portugal round-of-16 match at a pub near downtown Washington, DC, told Al Jazeera hours ahead of kickoff in the USA vs Belgium game.

“I feel like if you win, it’s a stain, because Balogun is one of our top players.”

He said the decision will make the USA “more unlikeable”, adding to the list of controversies for the host nation, including travel bans and the restrictions against the Iranian team during the group stage.

But 23-year-old Oscar Ramirez argued that the issue is more nuanced than the USA gaining an unfair advantage “because of the nature of the red card”.

“I think most people, including myself, believe the red card was unfair; it was unjust,” Ramirez said.

“I think you’ll have some people who will be like, we should keep the rules no matter what. And you’ll have some people who will be like, that card shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”

The USA fan admitted jokingly that he is biased, so he supports the decision.

“I’m American, and I want our best chances. And without him, we don’t have a good chance,” Ramirez said.

FIFA responds

Balogun, who has scored three goals in the tournament so far, received the red card for a studs-up contact near the ankle of Bosnia’s Tarik Muharemovic.

The USA striker was looking at the ball, so the incident appeared unintentional. Nonetheless, Balogun was sent off after an on-field VAR review, triggering an at-least one-match suspension.

A FIFA board subsequently suspended the penalty without providing an explanation.

Trump, who enjoys close relations with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, confirmed on Monday that he had requested a review of the suspension.

“All I did – I asked for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump said.

He also suggested that the US had conducted research on the referee who issued the card, calling the official “very suspect”.

“If you like, I can provide you with the past,” he told reporters.

FIFA has insisted that the decision was made by a judicial panel that operates independently, with Infantino denying that his conversation with Trump may have influenced the process.

“During our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies,” the FIFA president said in a statement.

“That is how FIFA’s system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold.”

Despite that assertion, US Senator Ted Cruz thanked Trump earlier for “getting rid of that ridiculous red card”.

The controversy has infuriated Belgian football officials. But in the US, some politicians and commentators lauded Trump for his intervention.

“I admit that I’m not the biggest soccer fan, but I’m glad President Trump urged FIFA to do the right thing. Good for President Trump, good for Folarin Balogun, good for the USA,” Republican Senator Tom Cotton wrote on X.

Fox Sports analyst Alexi Lalas, meanwhile, said that lifting Balogun’s suspension was surprising but welcome news.

“What happened here is America stood up for itself,” Lalas, a former USA player, told Fox News.

“The powers that be when it comes to the United States Soccer Federation did what they needed to do within the rules and regulations that exist in order to give ourselves the best possible chance of being successful.”

Mamdani invokes Mourinho

But CBS Sports commentator Nico Cantor said the episode sets a “dangerous precedent” that undermines the authority of the referees making decisions based on their interpretations of the rules.

“For as much as I believe Balogun didn’t deserve the red, it’s an interpretable decision,” he wrote on X.

“Anything can now be questioned after the fact. And it’s up to FIFA’s ‘judicial body’ – whoever that is, wherever they are – to call… critical decisions as they see fit.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the red card “cruel” but refused to comment on FIFA’s decision to suspend the suspension.

Instead, he posted a GIF of Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho saying, “I prefer not to speak. If I speak – big trouble.”

Back in Washington, DC, USA fan Lucas Faria said it was “crazy” that the suspension was overturned, but he added that the decision is unlikely to derail trust in the World Cup as it is already loaded with controversy.

Faria told Al Jazeera that the tournament has been a Trump-Infantino show.

“The tickets have been outrageous. It’s been an outrageous tournament so far. This is just an obvious thing,” he said.

Faria added, however, that the USA team should not be judged for FIFA’s decisions.

“It’s not on them.”