The fallout from Folarin Balogun’s controversial red card suspension at the 2026 World Cup is still raging, with Premier League CEO Richard Masters calling the decision another “self-inflicted moment” by FIFA.
World soccer’s governing body opened itself up to rampant criticism when it allowed Balogun, who was sent off in the U.S. men’s national team’s round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, to play against Belgium in the round of 16. The striker saw his ban suspended in a shocking decision, seemingly influenced by intervention from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Allowing Balogun to forgo immediate punishment for his red card and play the very next game put FIFA president Gianni Infantino under fire, a position he now knows all too well following his failed attempt to sell shares of future World Cup commercial rights to private investors.
Masters, who recently called for FIFA to cut ties with Infantino, reflected on the Balogun controversy: “We should be looking back on the World Cup, the football that was played, Spain being the best team, and England’s agonizing semifinal defeat. But we’re not, we are talking about other issues, and that's a huge shame.
“The Balogun issue stands alone in that isolated incident which is very difficult to comprehend when you look at it. I think it is, again, a self-inflicted moment.
“Why do FIFA not have a red card review process like the one that exists in many other leagues, including the Premier League, where if there has been a miscarriage of justice—not that I’m saying Balogun's red card was a miscarriage of justice—but it can be dealt with on that basis, rather than use a system which is only about the length of suspension which there is no option to overturn?
“That created controversy unnecessarily in my view.”
England Referee Chief ‘Really Troubled’ by Balogun Controversy
English soccer’s refereeing chief Howard Webb echoed Masters’s point of view, emphasizing just how unprecedented the Balogun decision was this summer.
“I was really troubled by it. I don’t know all the ins and out of the process but what do we know?” Webb said.
“We know a red card was shown—you can form an opinion about the validity of the red card but I understand why it was given. We know there was pressure placed by a politician on FIFA, because that was admitted. And we know that a suspension was taken away through a process that seemingly didn’t exist before.”
President Trump admitted he “asked for a review” by FIFA concerning Balogun’s red card. The striker was sent off for accidentally catching Bosnian center back Tarik Muharemović in the Achilles, a decision many deemed harsh. Still, the red card was given and should have come with at least a one-game ban, but FIFA altered its own process to allow the American to play for the USMNT in what wound up being a lopsided 4–1 defeat to Belgium.
“When you get [the Balogun] type of situation, it opens up space for people to say ‘ah ha, this sort of thing happens all the time.’ But it really doesn’t,” Webb added.
Balgoun Incident Only Increases Pressure on Infantino
Infantino no doubt hoped the backlash from Balogun’s suspended ban would have blown over by now, but over a month later and prominent officials throughout soccer are still talking about it. Balogun admitted “a lot of outside noise” stirred up “a bit of nerves” within the USMNT.
The Balogun decision is now just another example of why many are calling for Infantino to be replaced as FIFA’s president. The 56-year-old previously was expected to breeze into a fourth term in office, but now he under near-suffocating pressure from UEFA, Concacaf and AFC, as well as FIFPRO, the global players’ union.
It seems like with each passing day, there is a new figure speaking out against Infantino following his failed World Cup plan. This time, it’s Bayern Munich honorary president Uli Hoeneß hitting out at the FIFA president.
“Mr. Infantino has made some mistakes in his career in football, but this was one of his biggest," Hoeneß said in an interview with ntv Sport about Balogun’s red card.
“If you let a man like Donald Trump decide or influence whether a player is suspended or not, that’s the beginning of the end, of the competition. And if we accept something like that, then it’s no longer my sport. That was unacceptable to me.”
Infantino is up for re-election in March 2027. He previously ran unopposed in 2019 and 2023, but he could face competition this time around as the walls continue to cave in.
