2026 World Cup: FIFA made big mistake – Solbakken on Balogun’s red card suspension

Norway head coach, Stale Solbakken, has hit out at FIFA’s decision to suspend the red card shown to USA striker, Folarin Balogun.

Balogun was sent off against Bosnia and Herzegovina and was set to serve a one-match ban.

But on Sunday, FIFA announced that he would be eligible to play against Belgium in their last-32 clash.

The reversal is highly unusual and the first time since 1962 that FIFA has allowed a player to appear in a game when they would have been suspended.

Solbakken said: “It is a big mistake by FIFA. It is not a great conclusion. He got a red card and the VAR concluded that it was a red card. That means you are suspended for one game.

“I think what is really bad about that situation is, if the USA beat Belgium, they will always have that extra thing about it.

“The Belgians will be furious. What about the next red card? What happens there? Will some committee take it away? It’s a bad, bad, bad, bad decision that will hurt the World Cup and the United States.”