What would happen if Balogun scored, the US team won, and Belgium were eliminated?
As we know, striker Folarin Balogun was given a direct red card by the referee in the US national team's 2-0 victory over Bosnia & Herzegovina in the Round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup . He was penalized for a tackle on Tarik Muharemović of Bosnia & Herzegovina, which struck him in the ankle. It can be stated that the tackle was dangerous, potentially causing serious injury to his opponent, and the direct red card was entirely deserved.
But suddenly, FIFA issued a ruling postponing Balogun's one-match suspension. Prior to this, the 25-year-old striker had scored three goals, the most for the US national team at the 2026 World Cup. This meant he could potentially participate in the Round of 16 match against Belgium. According to foreign media, FIFA made this decision after President Donald Trump personally called FIFA President Gianni Infantino to request a review of Balogun's suspension. Immediately after FIFA announced the decision on July 5th, President Donald Trump posted on his personal page a message thanking the world's largest football governing body "for doing the right thing and reversing a great injustice."
Of course, the Belgians would be the first to protest this decision, and perhaps the most vehemently as well. Along with Belgium, the European Football Federation (UEFA) criticized FIFA for postponing the suspension of striker Folarin Balogun, allowing the American player to participate in the Round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup. UEFA issued a statement protesting FIFA's decision regarding Balogun's case. UEFA argued that the rules of football are fundamental to ensuring fairness, transparency, and integrity in tournaments.
However, FIFA subsequently activated a rarely applied clause in the disciplinary rules to postpone the one-year suspension, allowing Balogun to qualify for the match against Belgium in the round of 16.
And as we saw, even with Balogun, the US team still lost and were eliminated. The question is, if Balogun had scored, would the US team have won and Belgium have been eliminated?
Let's try to reason together. First, the person who felt the most relieved when the US team was defeated by Belgium was none other than Gianni Infantino, the FIFA president, who decided to postpone Balogun's red card, giving the US team an advantage. The reason is obvious to everyone: if the US team had won and Belgium had to leave, he would have been the one to bear the brunt of public criticism and resentment, not only from Belgians.
Furthermore, he will go down in FIFA history and world football history for the accusation of breaking FIFA rules and world football rules by interfering with a mandatory regulation. He also created a dangerous precedent for the rest of the World Cup, as similar cases will subsequently be treated like Balogun's, affecting the fairness of the tournament. In short, this FIFA president, despite citing existing FIFA rules, could not change the reality; he broke the respect for the rules that guarantee football and FIFA's position in the world of football. He destroyed the credibility of the tournament by disrespecting the very rules set by the organizers.
At that point, FIFA, the World Cup, and world football could change significantly.
When the US team, despite having Balogun, lost and was eliminated, this story had a chance to die down. People sympathized with him; everyone knew he didn't want to willingly expose himself to such criticism, but was forced to do so. Of course, for upright and strong-willed individuals, a phone call from a powerful person, no matter how influential, cannot force them to change the truth or disregard public opinion to humble themselves in such a way.
Fortunately for world football, that assumption did not come true.