Folarin Balogun of the U.S. is shown a red card by referee Raphael Claus on July 1.Phil Noble/Reuters
In Monday evening’s World Cup match, the Belgium national team beat the United States 4-1 to advance to the quarter-finals.
But the conversation that preceded the game had been the availability of U.S. striker Folarin Balogun, who had a red card he collected in the round of 32 appealed. The appeal allowed him to start in the round of 16 game, despite the rules around penalization.
The unprecedented move caused a stir around the globe, with numerous soccer federations and various politicians asking FIFA to reconsider their own country’s amassed cards. Here’s why the conversation around yellow and red cards has dominated the World Cup news cycle.
What earns you a card in soccer?
England reacts as referee Alireza Faghani issues a red card for England's Jarell Quansah during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match against Mexico in Mexico City, on July 5.Fernando Llano/The Associated Press
In soccer, there are two penalization cards you can get: a yellow card and a red card. Anyone involved in a match can pick up a card, including players on the bench and coaches.
A yellow card is shown as a cautionary measure. It’s usually awarded to bad tackles, unsportsmanlike conduct or time-wasting measures.
Red cards are shown for serious offences, awarded but not limited to tackles with an intent to injure, unsportsmanlike conduct like racial slurs, or purposefully committing a hand ball foul to deny an opposing team’s goal. If you get two yellow cards in a game, it equals a red card.
This World Cup has also introduced a rule that if a player covers their mouth while talking to an opponent in a confrontation, they would also get a straight red card. The rule came into place after Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni was accused of making discriminatory slurs to Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr. in a Champions League game.
@globeandmail A soccer player covering their mouth while speaking could earn them a red card. The Globe's Sarah Wallace explains this new “Prestianni rule” at the World Cup, and why English midfielder Jude Bellingham wasn’t penalized for covering his mouth in a recent match. #worldcup#fifa#judebellingham ♬ original sound - The Globe and Mail
A red card, unlike a yellow, results in an immediate ejection from the remainder of the match and a suspension from the next game. In the knockout stage of the World Cup, if a player accumulates two yellow cards over two consecutive games, they get suspended for a subsequent match.
There have been 13 red cards awarded thus far in the 2026 World Cup, the most given out since the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. That World Cup had 17 red cards shown, including players who earned two yellow cards in a single game. The increase in carding this year can be attributed to the tournament expanding to 48 teams and 104 games.
What started this card-appealing debacle?
United States' Folarin Balogun fouls Bosnia's Tarik Muharemovic during the World Cup round of 32 match on July 1.Jeff Chiu/The Associated Press
In a round of 32 game on July 1, the U.S. played Bosnia-Herzegovina. In the 64th minute, the U.S.’s top scorer, Balogun, stepped awkwardly on the right ankle of Bosnian centre-back Tarik Muharemovic. Balogun was issued a red card for the foul, ejecting him from the remainder of the game and suspending him for the following one.
Balogun’s red card has been one of the World Cup’s most controversial and consequential decisions. Brazilian referee Raphael Claus didn’t initially signal a card but showed the American a red after a video review.
“If you look at the foul, it was just zero intent at all,” U.S. star Christian Pulisic said at the time. “I felt like there was much worse ones that went on this tournament.”
Similar challenges by star players had gone unpunished at this iteration of the World Cup. Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi made similar moves against Algeria and Brazil, respectively, without penalization. Bernardo Silva of Portugal got a yellow card against Democratic Republic of the Congo for a similar play.
Balogun had scored three goals at the time, including a goal in the 45th minute against Bosnia-Herzegovina that put the U.S. ahead 1-0. The Americans went on to win 2-0 following a late goal from midfielder Malik Tillman.
How was the red card lifted?
U.S. President Donald Trump holds up a red card during a meeting with FIFA president Gianni Infantino in the Oval Office in 2018.Evan Vucci/The Associated Press
U.S. President Donald Trump intervened on behalf of the American forward after the round of 32 match, calling FIFA president Gianni Infantino after the game and asking FIFA to review the red card. FIFA announced Sunday that the suspension had been lifted for the round-of-16 match.
“The implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year,” FIFA announced. “If Folarin Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.”
FIFA said its decision relied on Article 27 of disciplinary committee rules. Article 27 allows FIFA to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure, and subjects the player to a sanctioned probationary period.
News of the move triggered praise from the U.S. President and outrage from Belgium’s team.
“Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!” Trump said in a statement on social media.
The Royal Belgian Football Association said it was “astonished,” and Belgium coach Rudi Garcia mocked FIFA’s action.
“I didn’t know that in the offices of FIFA the 5th of July was the 1st of April in Europe,” Mr. Garcia said through a translator, in an April Fools’ Day comparison. “The Belgian federation does not defend itself, it does not protect the national team. She defends football in general, she defends her integrity, her ethics. I think it’s the first time in the history of the World Cup that there is this kind of decision.”
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The Belgian soccer federation challenged FIFA’s ruling not to enforce a ban on Balogun. FIFA dismissed Belgium’s legal challenge, less than eight hours before Monday’s kickoff. When Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku scored a fourth goal against the U.S., the players mockingly did the Trump dance as a goal celebration. The official Belgium national men’s team Twitter account also posted “Overturn this” after the goal.
Overturn this. 🧏♂️ #USABEL pic.twitter.com/KcBAJp3Z7d
— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) July 7, 2026
Has a red card ever been overturned before?
Cristiano Ronaldo leaves the pitch after being shown a red card during a World Cup qualifying match against Ireland in Dublin, in 2025.Peter Morrison/The Associated Press
This is only the second time in World Cup history that a red card has been overturned. The first occurred in 1962, when Brazilian winger Garrincha was sent off in the World Cup semi-final for kicking his Chilean opponent.
The decision could have made Garrincha miss the final against Czechoslovakia. Political interference may also have helped the Brazilian play in the subsequent game, with the Chilean president Jorge Alessandri petitioning for FIFA to allow Garrincha to play. FIFA overturned the red card, allowing Garrincha to play in the final, which Brazil won 3-1.
Outside of the World Cup, in November, FIFA deferred the final two games of a three-match ban for Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese star had been issued a red card against Ireland in a World Cup qualifier after striking an opponent with his elbow. The deferral allowed him to play at the start of the World Cup.
Argentine defender Nicolás Otamendi and Ecuadoran midfielder Moisés Caicedo also had one-game bans deferred in April for red cards in qualifiers, also allowing them to be available for World Cup openers.
What precedent does the red card reversal set?
Referee Ilgiz Tantashev shows a yellow card to Michael Olise of France during the World Cup round of 16 match against Paraguay on July 4.Al Bello/Getty Images
Balogun‘s red card overturn has set a precedent for the remainder of the World Cup that any decision made on the field can be appealed. It can potentially undermine a referee’s job on the pitch, if there is enough political sway behind an appeal.
The decision has already caused other football federations and politicians to appeal to FIFA to rescind cards its players have collected. The Athletic reported that French Football Federation has asked FIFA to review Michael Olise’s yellow card earned in the round of 16. The French star could miss the World Cup semi-final if he picked up an additional yellow against Morocco in the quarter-finals.
In England, two members of parliament for the Labour party, Noah Law and Melanie Onn, asked Infantino to defer English defender Jarell Quansah’s red card. Both cited FIFA’s decision on Balogun as a precedent in separate letters posted on social media.
Like Balogun, Quansah faces an automatic one-match suspension after being sent off in England’s 3-2 victory against co-host Mexico.
“Whilst I believe it was right for Jarell Quansah to have received his red card … I believe it would be right to delay his suspension until after the completion of this World Cup,” Law wrote.
Onn said there was a strong case for deferring Quansah’s suspension, adding that it would be difficult to justify one player benefiting from a delayed ban while another in materially similar circumstances could not.
With reports from the Associated Press and Reuters