United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino has welcomed FIFA's extraordinary decision to overturn Folarin Balogun's red card ban, clearing the striker to feature in the USMNT's World Cup 2026 Round of 16 showdown against Belgium.

Balogun was originally dismissed following a lengthy VAR review after he planted his boot on the ankle of Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic during a Round of 32 tie against Bosnia-Herzegovina. That dismissal left the United States to battle on with ten men for 35 minutes.

FIFA applies Article 27

Rather than enforce the standard one-match suspension, FIFA invoked Article 27 of its disciplinary code, placing Balogun on a one-year probationary period instead. The ruling was unprecedented and came as a shock to many observers across the football world.

Reports emerged that U.S. President Donald Trump personally contacted FIFA president Gianni Infantino to lobby for the red card to be reversed — a development Pochettino acknowledged without dismissing.