FIFA’s disciplinary committee chairman Mohammad al-Kamali unilaterally overturned US striker Folarin Balogun’s red-card suspension without consulting any of the panel’s 17 other members, following an intervention by US President Donald Trump.
Balogun was sent off during the United States’ 2-0 round-of-32 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina at the 2026 World Cup and initially banned for the round of 16. The suspension was lifted after Trump asked FIFA President Gianni Infantino for a review, and Balogun played 89 minutes in the subsequent loss to Belgium. It marks the first time an automatic World Cup red-card ban has been rescinded. The committee’s last 110 published decisions were also made by one person.
Referee Raphael Claus, who issued the card, will not officiate further matches after being publicly discredited by Trump.