England defender Jarell Quansah was sent off during his side’s dramatic 3-2 win over Mexico in the last 16 of World Cup 2026 and he is set to miss the Three Lions’ crunch quarter-final against Norway on Saturday.
But the question now is whether Quansah could have his ban suspended, enabling him to play against Norway, in the same way that USA star Folarin Balogun did ahead of their last-16 tie with Belgium this evening.
England were leading Mexico 2-1 in the second half when Quansah made a sliding tackle on Jesus Gallardo. The referee, Alireza Faghani, let play go on but Gallardo lay injured as the Mexican staff and substitutes fumed on the touchline near the incident.
And when the video assistant referee called Faghani to review the footage on his pitch-side monitor, England feared the worst. The Australian-Iranian referee duly showed Quansah a straight red card for violent conduct, after replays confirmed the right-back had slid over the top of the ball and put studs on to the leg of Gallardo in a dangerous manner.
For receiving a red card, Quansah gets an automatic one-match ban but, earlier on Sunday, Balogun saw his ban wiped in extraordinary circumstances, leaving him free to play against Belgium.
It was well-documented, and criticised, that there was no avenue in Fifa’s regulations for US officials to appeal Balogun’s red card, given the presence of VAR. However, Article 27 of Fifa’s disciplinary code states: “The judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure” and the governing body made the unprecedented decision to “suspend” the ban for one year.
Fifa’s disciplinary code adds: “If the person benefiting from a suspended sanction commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked by the judicial body and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.”
Donald Trump’s White House seemingly put pressure on Fifa to overturn the ban, with Trump himself said to have phoned Fifa president Gianni Infantino to discuss the matter and he posted his delight on social media afterwards.
There is a chance England could try to go down a similar route to try and get Quansah’s ban suspended, which would leave him free to play against Norway. Balogun didn’t have the red card itself rescinded, just the punishment, so although Quansah’s tackle clearly warranted a sending off, that may not stop the ban being suspended.
Speaking on the BBC after the match, pundit Wayne Rooney certainly suggested England should try to take that route.
“I just think now with the Fifa setting the precedent on the Balogun situation, with him getting the one-year suspended sentence on his red card, so now what’s the reason Quansah shouldn’t get that,” asked Rooney.
“They haven’t taken the [Balgoun] red card away. They’re saying he’s guilty of an offence but now that’s the question everyone will be asking when a player gets sent off.”
Earlier in the broadcast, Rooney had strongly criticised Fifa’s unprecedented decision.
“I think it’s an absolute disgrace, I really do,” said Rooney of the call to suspend Balgoun’s punishment. “I know it’s Uefa but I got a three-game ban before Euro 2012.
“I was due to miss the three group games and I got told if I went over to Switzerland and did a training session with a bunch of kids, my third game would get taken off. I agreed to do it because I didn’t want a three-game ban but I thought that was wrong.
“For this to be suspended, they either take the red card away which is probably the right decision and then he can play. But to suspend it for a year? I think it’s an absolute disgrace. Infantino should be ashamed of this.
“The sportsmanship of this game is in question here. If I’m USA’s opponent, I’d be absolutely fuming. It’s wrong in every way.”
It remains to be seen whether England will appeal to Fifa to try and allow Quansah to play.
