Rooney's furious reaction to FIFA's decision
Wayne Rooney has labelled FIFA's decision to suspend USA striker Folarin Balogun's one-game ban for a year as "an absolute disgrace" during a live BBC broadcast. The American forward, the hosts' top scorer at the World Cup with three goals, was shown a red card in the round of 32 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina but will now be available for the last-16 match against Belgium in Seattle.
FIFA announced on Sunday night that the one-match suspension had been suspended for a year, without providing any justification. The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) expressed astonishment, noting that the US had not even lodged an appeal against the red card.
Trump's involvement and BBC debate
US President Donald Trump praised the decision on social media, writing: "Thank you to Fifa for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!" Multiple reports suggest Trump personally called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to request a review. The controversy dominated BBC's punditry team after a delayed match left extra airtime.
BBC host Kelly Cates outlined the situation, with pundit Joe Hart saying: "It doesn't feel right does it?" Rooney then delivered a scathing response: "I think it's an absolute disgrace, I really do. 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."
Rooney and Richards criticise integrity
Rooney continued: "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. If you're an England player tonight or a Mexican player, and you get a red card, do you expect to be playing the next game? Where does it stop?"
Fellow pundit Micah Richards added: "It's an absolute farce isn't it? It wasn't a red card. Balogun was trying to protect the ball and he went down, it happens, football is a contact sport. To have it suspend it for a year makes a mockery of the whole tournament. Like you said [Wayne], if that happens again tonight, they'll say 'you did it for one...' All this is to keep the big stars in the competition. America are one of the co-hosts. We all know what it is. FIFA need to do better."
Belgian FA's official response
Cates sought to temper Richards' comments, stating: "We don't know what it is." Rooney interjected: "It might even affect him not missing a World Cup qualifier, so it's not going to affect anything to do with the World Cup. It's been brushed away so it's not going to have anything to do with the World Cup." Richards concluded: "We've got to be honest about the situation. It's left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths. When the integrity comes into question for such a big tournament, for that to happen, it's just not good enough."
In their official statement, the Belgian FA said: "We are astonished by this decision. This decision is in direct contradiction to the provisions of the World Cup 2026 Competition Regulations. The automatic nature of such a suspension was also explicitly reaffirmed in World Cup 2026 Circular No. 16, which was distributed to all participating member associations on 12 May 2026. The same rule is reiterated at every Match Coordination Meeting prior to each match and all World Cup 2026 workshop presentations. 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 World Cup and at future editions of the tournament, the Belgian FA is investigating all potential options."
