For a few minutes, Mauricio Pochettino’s players had no idea what to believe. It was Sunday morning and they were sitting on the team bus as it chuntered through Seattle toward the University of Washington, where they have been training ahead of Monday’s mammoth World Cup clash with Belgium.
The team was running slightly late. The bus was headed into the eye of a storm.
Not that anyone knew it – some players were blasting out music. Others were playing the mobile game, Clash Royale. Folarin Balogun was said to be soaking up the team’s ‘post-July 4 celebration.’ And then whispers began rolling down the bus.
‘One person said something, another person said another thing,’ defender Chris Richards said. Then their phones began to buzz.
Richards’ family sent him message after message – all about the same topic. By then, reports had begun to emerge on social media that FIFA had suspended the one-game ban imposed on Balogun after his red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
All of a sudden, it seemed, Pochettino’s No 9 would be available to face Belgium after all. But Richards decided not to respond to any of his texts. Not yet. Not when he wasn’t sure if the reports were simply AI slop. ‘Nobody wanted to confirm it,’ the defender revealed.
FIFA has suspended the one-game ban handed down to USMNT striker Folarin Balogun
Donald Trump called FIFA chief Gianni Infantino over the red card given to Balogun
The striker was sent off for a tackle during their 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina
And then FIFA answered those questions. It was true.
Soccer’s governing body had invoked Article 27 of its disciplinary code and made the extraordinary decision to allow Balogun to play at Lumen Field on Monday night. Just minutes after the statement dropped, the gates to Husky Soccer Stadium opened.
A few fans, who had gathered outside, welcomed the USA team bus as it rolled down the hill. Around the same time that Pochettino’s players clambered down the steps, they were told the good news.
Christian Pulisic looked round to see a huge smile on Balogun’s face. He dapped the striker up. A member of US Soccer staff pulled Balogun in for a hug. ‘I think he’s keeping it cool right now,’ Richards said. ‘I think he was still nervous about if it was true or not.’
One by one, the USMNT then wandered down the far sideline of Husky Soccer Stadium to prepare for training. All except Richards, Pulisic and defender Alex Freeman. They were led across the field toward a couple of white tents and a wall of cameras and microphones.
They were then asked to piece together an extraordinary morning. ‘We found out about it just coming over here,’ Pulisic confirmed. ‘At first you’re like: “Oh, really? Is this real?”
US Soccer confirmed they had been ‘engaged’ in the disciplinary process – but when, and how? At that point, it wasn’t. As for their players? ‘I had no clue,’ Freeman said. ‘Nobody told us ahead of time that this was happening,’ Richards added.
Trump took to Truth Social on Sunday morning to praise FIFA for ‘doing what was right’
Belgium coach Rudi Garcia and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois addressed the media on Sunday
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It was pointed out to Pochettino’s players how unusual the decision was. Since yellow and red cards were introduced at the 1970 World Cup, no player had ever been sent off and gone on to play in his team’s next game.
‘I think it’s a little strange,’ Freeman said of FIFA’s decision on Balogun. ‘I have no clue how it happened.’
Pulisic, Freeman and Richards were still talking when President Trump had his say. ‘Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!’ he wrote on social media.
Cue more chaos, more confusion and more extraordinary allegations: it was claimed that President Trump had called FIFA president Gianni Infantino about Balogun’s red card. All of a sudden, concerns over FIFA’s disciplinary processes had mushroomed into a wider scandal reaching the White House.
Lumen Field was closed until midday on Sunday. At Gate 5, security staff opened the doors to a long line of journalists waiting to come in. There was still an hour until Belgium manager, Rudi Garcia, and his goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, were due to speak to the media.
Before they climbed on to the podium, the Belgium FA released a blistering statement, claiming they were ‘astonished’ by FIFA’s decision, which they argued ‘is in direct contradiction with the provisions of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Competition Regulations.’
‘In order to safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both at this FIFA World Cup and at future editions of the tournament, the RBFA is investigating all potential options.’
Balogun and Christian Pulisic were all smiles in training on Sunday after hearing the news
The decision to show Balogun a straight red card sparked widespread fury on social media
![USA head coach Mauricio Pochettino insisted soccer should 'celebrate [FIFA's] decision'](https://i.dailymail.com/1s/2026/07/06/14/109814067-15955105-USA_head_coach_Mauricio_Pochettino_insisted_soccer_should_celebr-a-399_1783343485450.jpg)
USA head coach Mauricio Pochettino insisted soccer should ‘celebrate [FIFA’s] decision’
Garcia poured more fuel on the fire. ‘I didn’t know that at the World Cup the 5th of July is now April 1st and is now April Fool’s Day,’ the Belgium manager said. ‘We are defending football – its ethics and history.’
Minutes later, a source told the Daily Mail that Belgian soccer chiefs are considering taking legal action and referring the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
At that point, there was perhaps only one person who hadn’t had their say: USMNT boss Pochettino. Shortly after 2pm in Seattle, the Argentine took his place in the same chair Garcia had vacated barely an hour earlier. He struck a slightly different tone.
‘We celebrate that decision,’ Pochettino said. ‘This is good for football, to celebrate [that] in the next game if an unfair thing happens you can reverse the decision.’
Pochettino insisted he was not involved in the battle to overturn Balogun’s red card. Instead? ‘The federation was working very hard,’ Pochettino said at his pre-match press conference.
‘JT (Batson, the chief executive of US Soccer) and the whole federation were trying to defend our situation. I was not involved and focused on the team preparing for Belgium.’
US Soccer’s legal team is understood to have made their case to FIFA, with their argument centering around officials’ use of slow-motion replays before Balogun’s red card.
As Pochettino was speaking, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to the Daily Mail that Trump spoke to Infantino earlier this week about the possibility of overturning Balogun’s suspension.
Somehow, the clock had only just struck 3pm. It felt like a week had passed since Balogun emerged on to the field for training. In the very first drill, the striker was nutmegged and then heckled by teammate Weston McKennie: ‘Welcome back!’ he joked. Not everyone echoed those sentiments.
