FIFA has intervened to lift Folarin Balogun's one-match ban, clearing the USA striker to face Belgium in the World Cup 2026 last 16 on Tuesday — a decision that has drawn sharp criticism from Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville and left the Belgian FA demanding answers.

Balogun had been handed an automatic suspension after receiving a red card during USA's last-32 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina, where he caught Tarik Muharemovic with his studs following his opening goal. With the ban set to rule him out of Tuesday's knockout tie, FIFA stepped in on Sunday and suspended the sanction for a probationary period of one year.

Trump praises FIFA, Belgium cries foul

US President Donald Trump — who was awarded the inaugural FIFA peace prize by FIFA president Gianni Infantino last year — celebrated the decision on social media. "Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!" Trump wrote. A post from The White House's official account on X amplified the message, adding: "USA-USA-USA".

The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) was far less pleased. In a statement, the RBFA said it was "astonished" by the ruling and announced it is "investigating all potential options" to protect what it called "the legitimate rights of all participating teams and the fundamental principles of fair play."

Neville: "It absolutely stinks"

Speaking on ITV, Neville was unambiguous in his condemnation. "It absolutely stinks, let's be really clear," he said. "What stinks the most is that there should be a review process in place. I actually didn't think it was a red card but there should be a process that allows it to be overturned."

Neville added that FIFA acting outside any formal framework was the real problem. "If there's no process for it to be overturned and then somehow FIFA, from nowhere, have decided to basically let a player play — the rules are the same for everybody. I'd be absolutely raging if I was Belgium or any other team in the tournament that's had a player sent off and thought it was harsh. Am I surprised? No, not with this lot."

The Ronaldo precedent

FIFA's move mirrors a similar intervention made ahead of this tournament. Cristiano Ronaldo had been facing a three-game ban — carrying over two matches into the World Cup — after an elbow on Republic of Ireland's Dara O'Shea in a qualifier. FIFA also suspended that ban for its final two games, citing article 27 of their disciplinary regulations, which permits the governing body to "fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure."

The same article 27 was invoked for Balogun on Sunday. Before that ruling, 12 red cards had been issued at FIFA World Cup 2026 — his remains the only ban to have been suspended. Balogun has scored three goals at the tournament heading into Tuesday's last-16 clash.