Balogun suspension lifted—will be eligible vs Belgium

Sorry that didn't go well for you. Good luck in the semifinals. Kinda weird your hatred for England considering your name but hey Scouse not English I guess.

We'll see what our influence is once we're no longer the hosts. Of course the size of our economy means that FIFA's sponsors will still want US consumers interested but "US Consumers" and US national team fans are not the same. The US has been the number 1 market for World Cup tickets since at least 2010, but most of those tickets were not for US games or to US fans. FIFA doesn't really need US fans. They need people working in the US economy.

There may even be a world where US Soccer is thrown under the bus by FIFA to try and save their reputation.

 

As a Liverpool fan of 36 years and someone with Welsh and Irish heritage…No, I don’t like the English.

Anyway, do you know a lot of people from Liverpool who care about the England team? I’d like to meet them I’ve never met one.

You are absolutely deadly accurate about the American consumer. All this handwringing about how do we develop players on one hand and morals on the other…

We are the bus. FIFA and the United States are the bus. There are some others on the bus too, and Europe hates the feeling whenever they get thrown under it a little bit.

 

There are 18 members of FIFA's disciplinary committee but the unprecedented decision to lift Balogun's automatic ban was taken by just one person - the chairman Mohammad Al Kamali of UAE. No one else was consulted.
Full story: https://t.co/DbqEmcPlOT

— Martyn Ziegler (@martynziegler) July 12, 2026

Could somebody kindly copy and paste this article? I’m not giving them anything. This story is like a kink for the English.

 

100% agree that it should be US Soccer stepping up so the individual players don't have to. But if US Soccer doesn't, then the players silence is support. I realize it's puts them in a tough situation but that's life.

Yeh but as of today US Soccer hasn't even acknowledged it was a mistake. That gives people an in to keep asking. Now maybe they won't but that tells us more about the US Soccer press pool, and the importance of US Soccer in the world, and in the US for that matter. That basically nobody cares. If this was England or Brazil or Argentina this thing would rumble on and on and on.

I think your understating the uniqueness here. I think this is fundamentally different than the other cases because we know for sure that it happened. Funny you should bring up '34 because I have been thinking about that a lot. Just before the tournament I'd actually listened to a podcast about the '34 World Cup and the influence of Italian Fascism on the tournament. One of the hosts was an Irish historian who focused on the history of sport. He comes from a left wing perspective so obviously has no love for Mussolini, but he was still pouring cold water on the conspiracy theories. Specifically the one about the bent ref in the final. Now I was not totally convinced myself, but the point is there is lots of room for debate about the influence of the Italian government on the '34 World Cup. There is no debate here. The US Government tried to, and succeeded in influencing the game on the field.

Have thought about this too. And hopefully you are right that this was such a unique set of circumstances with it being Trump and the US hosting that it can't happen again. But..

Not sure I follow you here. Why wouldn't Infantino be willing to help future hosting nations like he helped us. Especially the Moroccan FA who we know he is close too, and want to use football as a tool to promote the government. The fact that he rigged the '34 hosting process to give it to Saudi Arabia for an assumed financial benefit for himself gives also gives them leverage over him.

If this is able to be swept under the rug and Infantino doesn't suffer any serious damage than why not continue to favor one side over another based on what they can offer you? Just seems like another lever of power to hold over the FA's to get what he wants.

And maybe this has already been happening in the background. But this time if happened in the open, and if there are no consequences then it's a sign that it's fine and that's how you can succeed in tournaments in the future.

Not sure anyone can argue there wasn't real influence. With how bad this looks it would be in FIFA's best interest to try and come up with at least a fig leaf of an explanation, but so far nothing. Doesn't make sense unless what looks like happened is what happened.

 

It’s very simply that there are some people who do not have the emotional capacity to compartmentalize their own personal politics and their support of the national soccer team.

 

I favor Wales over England since I did a year of Uni in North Wales and have ancestry from around Swansea. But since I was in the English language sections rather than the Welsh language ones most of the friends I made living over there were English, and a lot supported the three lions so have a soft spot for them.

Only met him briefly at a live show but Gibbo from The Anfield Wrap seems to be supporting England. Other TAW contributors who I follow on social media are too. In his autobiography Gerrard said he was proud to represent England, Carragher said the same but then also had the comment about being glad his penalty miss that knocked England out in '06 was not for Liverpool so there's that. Also remember being in Euston on the day of the an England match when a train arrived from Lime Street with lots of England shirts and Scouse accents.

I've never lived in Liverpool but been there a ton of times so I get the scouse not English thing. It's actually one of the appealing things about the city and the people. If you say you've never met a scouser who supported England I'll believe you, but in my personal experience it's more nuanced than that.

One thing that isn't really nuanced is the politics of Merseyside and Liverpool supporters. And it aint in favor of the Great Orange King the first.

I am not touching the player development debate with a barge pole so not sure why that was aimed at me. In terms of morals yes I do believe the most powerful nation on earth has an obligation to try and act morally.

 

Why would he? He doesn't give a shit about the Moroccan market, and the Moroccan justice department isn't going to arrest him.

The US is on a different level of resourcing, market size and ability to intimidate. We literally took down his predecessor. And Trump is somewhat atypical in his craziness and willingness to bully.

 

There are 18 members of FIFA's disciplinary committee but the unprecedented decision to lift Balogun's automatic ban was taken by just one person - the chairman Mohammad Al Kamali of UAE. No one else was consulted.
Full story: https://t.co/DbqEmcPlOT

— Martyn Ziegler (@martynziegler) July 12, 2026

Any non-paywalled articles on this

 

I think it's quite simple that there are some people that can't quite grasp that being against bigotry, racism, corruption, incompetence, thievery, and general buffoonery isn't about "personal politics."

 

This appears to be a synopsis of The Times reporting:

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/fif...7-committee-members-not-consulted/ar-AA27LHTh

 

True Morocco is not the size of the US but if there are no consequences why wouldn't he help out an ally that is central to him staying in power? The Moroccan FA is seen as one of Infantino's closest allies. The Moroccan government has been open about trying to use sports widely, and football specifically, to promote themselves around the world. They are not building these stadiums only to see themselves get knocked out in the group stage. And at this point it seems to make more sense that he would step in to help an FA and a Government that's been helpful to him, then stay out of it. Especially if there are no repercussions to doing it this time around.

And this is all before we get to incredibly wealthy Saudi Arabia in 2034.

And imagine the trepidation of the players and the fans if your FA is seen as an enemy of Infantino, like the Norwegians are.

 

Eh, I doubt it. Morocco may like Infantino and vice versa, but you don't risk more outrage for Morocco and they don't have the power to enforce it.

We'll see, but I do think that the downstream consequences of this are not nearly as bad as people think. The reaction does keep it in check to some level. The blowback is real; why risk it for Morocco, especially when he doesn't need Morocco, he needs all of Africa.

And frankly, I could give a shit about most of Europe's trepidation. There's just mass hypocrisy there by UEFA and many of the member states. UEFA doesn't like Infantino because UEFA wants to keep all the money, just like Infantino.

Spare me the righteous indignation. That's not the cause.

 

@owian

Let me put this another way. You want to portray this as crossing a particular Rubicon for which there is no going back; there is a slippery slope on the other side that we've started down and we can't come back from.

In almost everything, this type of characterization is used and is basically never correct. You can define the action tighter and tighter until you make it unique, but the reality is that this is almost certainly just the next step in a broader history of corruption, including many acts we simply do not see.

Likewise, slippery slope arguments are bullshit. Nearly everything is a slope; you stop going down a slippery slope when society stops accepting things. Just because a line was or wasn't drawn here -- and I'd argue it was actually very much drawn -- does not mean the next farther action is accepted. Gay marriage does not necessarily lead to marrying animals. People can and do differentiate.

I do not say this to validate the actions or minimize them in any way. I simply do not look at the general response to them or the action itself and say that we are on a clear path to disaster. If anything, I think response has been a push back that will deter it from happening again anytime soon.

That said, I do find much of the reaction to be cynical in nature. Going after Infantino makes sense to prevent further corruption (though UEFA's attack is clearly cynical in nature as they had no issue with Ronaldo's exculpation -- this is an opportunistic attack, not a moralistic one).

I also find other fanbases coming on here and criticizing Americans in general to also be ridiculous -- just asshole more interested in acting superior than anything. No one here made that choice. Furthermore, if you have an issue with preventing it in the future, the place to apply pressure is FIFA.

I have seen very little call for what is a clear solution, even from FAs and UEFA: a clear appeals process with open meetings, elected staffing, and required turnaround times, etc.

There's a very clear solution here and it's telling that even the appalled organizations are centered on trying to make other looks bad rather than preventing corruption.

 

At the end of the day it is the tournament continues and I'll see where I am with my US support when the Gold Cup starts in June and when the qualifiers start of up in '28. But I did want to clarify a few things.

Yeah this is clearly a Rubicon. That's very much how the rest of the world see's it. Whether we can come back from we'll see. I do think that the '26 World Cup will always be connected with this, also with corruption widely, and with Trump. Some unfair and happens in every World Cup. But a lot of it very fair.

But in order to "come back" we first have to admit there was a mistake. Still not seeing that from the fed, players, or many fans.

Sorry didn't mean to leave you with the impression that I was making a slippery slope argument. I wasn't. The slippery slope was Ronaldo being allowed to play in the tournament. The slippery slope was the FIFA Peace Prize, we are down the slippery slope and are sitting in the pool of S*** at the bottom.

Nobody trusts the officials. The fact that it is a US crew working the Argentina - England game is already being flagged because the US is rightfully seen as working with FIFA. And however crazy that should sound, FIFA just did a huge solid for the US Fed. We're no longer neutral in this.

And just wait if we get a controversial red card* in one of these semi's. How long until government officials will be under real political pressure in their home countries to get the suspensions overturned? FIFA's position is what happened with Ronaldo and Balogun was part of a totally normal process. Been told that all the time on here. So why wouldn't they do it again? What happens if Argentina and Spain have suspensions going into the final. Argentina's president is a Trump ally, Spain's Prime Minister a vocal critic. This isn't where we "could end up" these are genuine questions that fans have to ask themselves today all because of FIFA's actions yes, but at the request of the US Fed and Government too.

*my stance is there no non-controversial red cards at this stage in the world cup. If there is a red it will be controversial even if it shouldn't be.

I think we deserve every criticism that is coming our way because of the way a large segment of our fanbase defended it before the match, and minimized it afterwards. Some of the individual posters may be annoying to you, and there is for sure some point scoring, but doesn't mean they are wrong.

And also they are scared. They are seeing a sport that they love, and make a big part of their lives, being changed for the worse by a bunch of people who only follow it every four years, and see it as an entertainment product not a sporting contest.

Just this morning I saw an article that UEFA are trying desperately to find someone willing to run against Infantino. The obvious catch-22 is you need somebody with power and influence to realistically challenge and win, but nobody with that power and influence will run because you'll lose it the moment you stick your head up. There's a reason there have only been 3 FIFA president's in my lifetime.

Which ties directly into the Morocco thing you talked about in your earlier post. Africa is Infantino's powerbase. He loses Africa he loses the presidency, and is paying for his own lawyers the rest of his life. This is just one example of the thousands of little powerplays and deals that we all know are going on behind the scenes. You are 100% right none of this is new. The difference now is FA's can expect favorable treatment on the field, as well as off, for their support.

 

🗣️ "I was happy to be back in the team, but when I started to reflect I knew it was gonna cause a lot of controversy. I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves because it was... so unique."

Folarin Balogun on his suspension that wasn't 🇺🇸pic.twitter.com/dYrDmqJzk0

— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) July 14, 2026

Balogun continues to handle himself very well.

 

Was it a bad call? FIFA still stand behind both the call and the intervention. No where in any official communication have FIFA even hinted at the call itself being the reason for the suspended suspension. Actually the clearest statements they have made have been to state that they did NOT overturn the red card, and that they have full confidence in the ref.

We might disagree with the red card, personally I am not sure anymore but that's honestly the case with most reds now a days, but it was reasonable for VAR to intervene as FIFA have clearly said. Can we drop the idea that the red was in anyway so heinous that it justified this unprecedented intervention by the US government. It wasn't.

 

I can see FIFA wanting to placate the hosts for more than political reasons. Probably want another Club World Cup here before too long. Doesn’t make it right, but as a fan I don’t see it as my job to stress out over a situation that is done with and in the end likely hurt our team more than helped.

 

At the end of the day, with all of the vitriol with which we as Americans have become accustomed to reacting to all things, whatever that means, and whatever side you think you’re on, if you think there are sides…

Balo has been the most unbelievable class act. Start to finish, 100% of the time. He is a national hero. The only one, maybe besides Malik, who comes out of this in that category.

 

Apologies if I misunderstood your post. Looked to me like you were saying the real controversy here is that FIFA doesn't have a system to overturn red cards.

Feel sorry for the guy. This is probably going to be the main thing most football fans will remember him for the rest of his career. Didn't need to be this way.

 

Balogun's comments seem to support the theory 'the overturned red caused a lot of frayed nerves on the team' and as a result the team lost focus against Belgium.

 

It's not. Almost nothing ever is. But people always make it out to be.

You are proposing to speak for 8 billion people? Based on what? Your corner of the internet?

You are absolutely making a slippery slope argument -- that this particular action is some kind of tipping point from which we cannot come back. You've said so.

These arguments are inherent fallacious just like most Rubicon moments are placed in time much later. Things and trends occur in pieces, and they stop and reverse all the time. Welcome to history.

The rest of your post is just made up things you think will happen but haven't.

I've seen about fifty posts on the officials for the semis; not a single one is focused on them being American therefore biased (to who even?). There's lots of questions as to whether they are good enough, but zero about bias.

The World is not acting like this.

If there's a controversial red card, there will be a controversial red card. Who knows if any nation would try to influence given the blowback -- after all, the European countries, which are three of the remaining four, have roundly condemned the action. Would they even risk being seen as hypocrites?

Who said FIFA would cave of they did?

You continue to make up scenarios that have not yet occurred.

We get your point of view. If you are so certain of your results here, go on Kalshi or whatever and make a boatload.

As for UEFA running against Infantino, that is all about money. They are a load of corrupt hypocrites as well. Spare me their sanctimony.

 

Took a ten second google search "Argentina vs England Referee" to find an article referencing the referee's record of being sympathetic to Messi. https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/referee-argentina-vs-england-special-125218315.html

Here's an X-post that was part of the same search.

🚨🚨 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚:

The semi-final between England and Argentina will be officiated by MLS referee Ismael Elfath.

Since Messi joined Inter Miami, they have a 100% win record under him and also won the Leagues Cup final. 😳

England have been robbed even before the game has… pic.twitter.com/O60pAhIwCM

— 𝐓𝐌 𝐅Ú𝐓𝐁𝐎𝐋 (@TMfutbal) July 14, 2026

Here's a youtube video after the search "is it fair that an american referee is in argentina vs england"


At the end of the day if you don't think it's a big deal than we're just going to have to agree to disagree. I think this is a stain on the World Cup and a stain on US Soccer. And I think we blasted through a significant firewall in that a government directly and successfully intervened with an actual game. You've said you don't think it is a big deal alright. But where I really disagree is how can we be so confident that this can't happen again if there have been no repercussions. As of right now the perpetrators position is this was fine and we can and will do it again. So why wouldn't they? Hope you're right and they don't but we shall see..