Rio Ferdinand is getting a lot of attention for his reaction after FIFA removed Folarin Balogun’s red card suspension at the World Cup.
Rio Ferdinand has praised FIFA’s decision to suspend the red card given to U.S. striker Folarin Balogun during their World Cup game against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Balogun was shown a straight red card for fouling defender Tarik Muharemovic. However, FIFA announced that his one-match ban would be put on hold for a year, meaning he can play in Tuesday’s round-of-16 match against Belgium.
FIFA explained in a statement that if Balogun commits a similar offense within the year, the suspension will be enforced right away, along with any extra penalties for the new incident.
U.S. Soccer said they were happy and accepted the decision, while former U.S. President Donald Trump thanked FIFA on social media for “reversing a great injustice.” Reports say Trump even reached out to FIFA president Gianni Infantino to ask for the red card to be reviewed.
On the other hand, the Belgian Football Association (RBFA) is very unhappy with this choice. They are looking into all their options and might take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to protect fairness in the game.
Shortly after the news, Rio Ferdinand shared a FOX Sports story about Balogun being allowed to play and added three clapping emojis to show his approval. This sparked mixed reactions, including from TV personality Piers Morgan, who questioned Ferdinand’s support.
Gary Neville, another former England defender, strongly criticized the decision, calling it “shameful” and saying “it absolutely stinks.” He pointed out that there should be a clear review process for red cards, and although he didn’t think the original card was right, if no official process exists, then letting a player play anyway isn’t fair. Neville said he would be very upset if he were Belgium or any other team that lost a player due to a red card. “Are we surprised? Not with this lot,” he added.
The RBFA released a statement expressing their shock at FIFA’s ruling. They explained that while FIFA cited Article 27 of the disciplinary code to suspend the ban, other FIFA rules, including Article 66.4 and the World Cup 2026 Competition Regulations, make it clear that a red card means an automatic suspension for the next match. This has been the rule followed for all other red cards in the tournament.
The RBFA stressed that this decision goes against those established rules and that suspensions are always automatic after a red card, as confirmed in official FIFA documents shared with teams. To protect the rights of all teams and keep fair play intact, the RBFA is exploring every option available.