Red card scandal: FIFA to review disqualification rules

The International Football Federation's (FIFA) legal committee will review disciplinary procedures following a controversial ruling on U.S. forward Folarin Balogun. The forward was suspended one-game suspension, which allowed him to take the field in the match of the 1/8 finals of the 2026 World Cup against Belgium. According to the organization, the results of the review will be presented at a meeting of the FIFA Council in December.

Initially, Balogun had to miss the meeting with the Belgians because of the red card received earlier. However, the disciplinary committee of the federation decided to suspend the punishment, setting a probation period of one year for the footballer.

The decision caused a wide resonance. According to media reports, US President Donald Trump contacted FIFA head Gianni Infantino about the situation with the American striker.

Trump later said he had not given Infantino instructions on how to proceed. The head of FIFA stressed that the disciplinary committee made the decision independently.

As reported by ESPN, citing sources in the organization, one of the possible changes will be a ban on the abolition of automatic disqualification for one match. Such a measure should prevent the recurrence of situations such as the Balogun case.

Final decisions on changing the disciplinary rules are expected following a review by the FIFA board in December.