Trump’s request for a review of Folarin Balogun’s red card has become a global test of FIFA’s political neutrality

The U.S. striker’s red-card ban was suspended after President Trump personally asked FIFA president Gianni Infantino for a review.

President Donald Trump’s personal appeal to FIFA president Gianni Infantino may have helped suspend a red card for one of the U.S. men’s national team’s top strikers, but it may have also put FIFA’s credibility on the line and its billions of advertising dollars at risk.

Folarin Balogun, the U.S. striker who, until the contentious Monday night game, scored in every match he has played in at the 2026 World Cup, was expected to miss the round of 16 match against Belgium after he was awarded a red card for a tackle during the Americans’ 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina last week. But after Trump and his team gave Infantino a call and FIFA subsequently suspended Balogun’s one-match ban, many pointed to the federation’s strict political interference rules and how FIFA enforced it in the past—and didn’t this time around.

By Sunday, FIFA had suspended Balogun’s one-match ban for a probationary period of one year, clearing the U.S.’ No. 20 to play Monday while slapping him with a $40,000 fine. It was the first instance since 1962 that a red card during the tournament did not result in a match suspension for a player. Hours before the match began, FIFA ruled Belgium’s appeal was “inadmissible” and therefore had no grounds to appeal the decision. Balogun ended up playing in a match that, following a disastrous misplay by the USMNT’s defensive end, saw Belgium with a 3-1 lead before the Belgium national team scored another with less than a minute-and-a-half to go, concluding the USMNT’s World Cup journey.

Regardless of the 4-1 final score, the match may very well be overshadowed by FIFA’s controversial decision to suspend Balogun’s red card, one that brings back memories of past scandals and which some say runs afoul of its own rules on avoiding foreign interference.

FIFA’s own rules require its member associations to be politically neutral, and it has enforced this rule harshly in the past. In 2022, the world soccer governing body suspended Kenya and Zimbabwe for government interference in the activities of both countries’ football associations. While suspended, both countries’ national teams were disqualified from qualifiers for that year’s edition of the African Cup of Nations and their football associations were denied any funding from FIFA. The suspensions were later lifted on Kenya and Zimbabwe in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

The biggest viewership in history

At this year’s edition of the World Cup, the stakes are even higher. With an expanded format of 48 teams hosted between a record three nations, the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, the tournament has already generated about seven billion views across digital and social platforms for Fox Sports,Variety reported. Because of the massive viewership level, brands are also expected to pour $10.5 billion into the tournament that ends July 19, according to WARC Media.

Yet, these companies are buying not just eyeballs but also the belief that the World Cup is fair. They would likely be hesitant to have their brands associated with a tournament that fans view as politically manipulated.

For his part, Infantino said in a statement that the disciplinary committee who made the call to suspend the red card is independent. He said he informed Trump on their call that the process for reviewing the call was ongoing and would be decided by FIFA’s independent judicial body.

When reached for comment. A spokesperson for FIFA referred Fortune to public statements by both Infantino and the chairperson for the FIFA Disciplinary Committee.

FIFA did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.

Yet, it’s hard for some to trust FIFA’s process when it has battled corruption in the past. In 2015, the U.S. Justice Department indicted several FIFA officials on a litany of charges stemming from an alleged system of kickbacks tied to media and marketing rights.

While many U.S. fans believe Balogun’s punishment was overly harsh, the idea that a powerful head of state can request a review of an on-field call reeks of impropriety to most, even if it wasn’t all-out corruption.

Soon after the U.S. men’s national team’s match against Bosnia and Herzogovina, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and executive director of the White House World Cup task force Andrew Giuliani, who were present at the game, called Trump and mounted an effort to challenge the decision. Trump then called Infantino to ask for a review even though there is no established process for appealing a red card decision, the New York Times reported.

Trump insisted in a press conference Monday that he did not order Infantino to do anything, but did admit he asked for a review.

“I didn’t tell [Infantino] what to do. I can’t tell him what to do, and I don’t believe he made the decision. I think it was a committee that made the decision. And they made the right decision,” Trump said at a press conference Monday.

When reached for comment a White House spokesperson referred Fortune to President Trump’s comments at the Monday press conference. 

Global controversy

FIFA’s reversal on the issue has immediately set off a wave of criticism across Europe that could cause the organization more headaches down the line.

UEFA, the governing body for European soccer, criticized the decision to suspend Balogun’s red card as having “crossed a red line.”

Meanwhile, after FIFA ruled its appeal over the Balogun reversal inadmissible, the Royal Belgian Football Association said in a statement that it was “deeply concerned” about what happened and claimed that it threatened football interests. The Royal Belgian Football Association and the U.S. Soccer Federation did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.

The director and co-founder of human rights group FairSquare, Nicholas ​McGeehan, also piled on, telling Reuters that FIFA’s governance structure is “rotten” and the scandal could prevent Infantino from serving another term as FIFA president. He is up for reelection in March 2027.

The Royal Belgian Football Association and the U.S. Soccer Federation did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.

Not only that, but now thanks to FIFA’s actions, the floodgates of appeals, sanctioned or not, have flung open.

Already, the French Football Federation said Monday it had appealed to FIFA to rescind a yellow card awarded to midfielder Michael Olise in its round of 32 game against Paraguay. The federation has said its appeal has nothing to do with Balogun’s red card suspension, reported The Athletic.

After England’s 3-2 win over Mexico Sunday, head coach Thomas Tuchel was also asked whether, given Balogun’s red card suspension, his team would try to challenge a red card shown to defender Jarell Quansah during the match. 

Tuchel stopped short of saying he would appeal the decision but made it clear that FIFA’s decision could have dangerous consequences.

“Where to draw the line is the question that I ask. I have no answer to that. Where does this end now?” he said.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com