FIFA, the international soccer organization that governs the World Cup, lifted a red card suspension for U.S. star player Folarin Balogun on Sunday after President Donald Trump intervened through an intense lobbying effort.

Balogun’s red card penalty against Bosnia and Herzegovina last week was itself questionable, with some commentators stating that the infraction he was called for did not warrant such a severe penalty. Nevertheless, the lifting of a red card sanction — which, in Balogun’s case, carried with it a one-game suspension — is incredibly rare. The last time that FIFA lifted a red card during World Cup play was in 1962 (although the organizing body also lifted a red card last fall during the qualification phase, for Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo).

In a statement, FIFA explained that:

In line with article 27 of the FIFA disciplinary code, the implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year. If Folarin Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.

U.S. Men’s team said it was “pleased” with the decision, but that their “attention is focused on the round of 16 match against Belgium in Seattle” on Monday night. Belgium, meanwhile, said it was “astonished” by the ban on the red card penalty, and that it was in “direct contradiction” with tournament regulations. The team added that it was “investigating all potential options” against the move.

The matter turned political when Trump celebrated the overturn in a Truth Social post. Shortly after, it was reported that his administration had played a role in the red card being overturned.

“Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!” Trump wrote online.

Before the lifting of the red card penalty, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, as well as Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force for the World Cup (and son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani), reportedly recruited lawyers to help present a case to FIFA to have the red card lifted. Trump himself made a phone call to Gianni Infantino, FIFA president, to appeal the ban. (Trump and Infantino are close friends, and Infantino presented Trump with FIFA’s first ever “peace prize” late last year, after Trump complained about losing the Nobel Peace Prize.)

On Monday, Trump acknowledged that he was directly involved with the red card being overturned.

“All I did was ask for a review. I didn’t say, ‘You have to do this,'” Trump said, downplaying reports about the White House recruiting lawyers. The president added that he “didn’t think it was a foul” to request the review.

Days before the action, FIFA had previously stated that the penalty could not be reviewed.

On Monday, UEFA, the European governing body for soccer, also questioned FIFA’s decision to lift Balogun’s red card.

“We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision,” the organization said in a statement, adding that FIFA “crossed a red line.”

“When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined,” UEFA said.

Even U.S.-based commentators who are rooting for the country to win questioned the decision.

“So the World Cup is fixed? Got it,” political and sports commentator Keith Olbermann said in a Bluesky post.

“Trump has tainted” the tournament, journalist Molly Ploofkins said, adding: “Leave it to Trump to ruin the World Cup.”

“One of the biggest scandals in World Cup history. Toxic Trump strikes again,” foreign policy and political affairs commentator David Rothkopf said.

Even former FIFA president Joseph Blatter weighed in on the matter, stating in a post on X that:

Red cards are not overturned by political phone calls. They are overturned by rules, evidence and independent bodies. If a U.S. President intervenes with the FIFA President — and a player is suddenly cleared before a World Cup knockout match — the question is unavoidable: Quo vadis, FIFA? Football must never become a playground for political power.

FIFA has been unfair to other teams, too, appearing to exhibit a pro-U.S. bias in its treatment of the Iranian soccer game during the first round of the World Cup.

In one glaring example, just days before Iran’s first game was scheduled to take place, FIFA revoked the country’s ability to issue tickets for its fans. The move came after many Iranian fans had already made plans to travel across the globe to attend the games.

Iran’s soccer federation blamed the U.S. for that decision, citing Trump’s war against the country

“With less than three days remaining until the start of the 2026 World Cup … the United States has once again acted to obstruct the presence of Iranian supporters at the stadiums hosting the national team’s three group stage matches,” a statement from the organization said at the time, adding:

Depriving Iranian supporters of access to their lawful and official allocation of tickets is an action contrary to the spirit governing international competitions and the principle of equality among participating countries.