Wayne Rooney speaks after Mexico vs England match postponed (Image: BBC)
Wayne Rooney has called it an “utter disgrace” that US striker Folarin Balogun was handed a one-match ban by FIFA. The American was the hosts’ top scorer at the World Cup with three goals, but was sent off in the Round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. This means the former Arsenal centre-forward will miss the last-16 clash with Belgium in Seattle. However, FIFA suddenly announced a one-year suspension on Sunday night.
No reason was given by the governing body, and the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) was stunned by the decision. The US didn’t even appeal the red card. “Thank you FIFA for doing the right thing and reversing a great injustice! President Donald J. Trump,” US President Donald Trump said on social media. According to some reports, President Trump called FIFA President Gianni Infantino and personally requested that the red card be reviewed. The issue was discussed by BBC experts after it was announced that the 1am kick-off between Mexico and England would be postponed until 2am due to bad weather, filling up studio broadcast time.
After BBC presenter Kerry Cates explained Balogun’s situation, Joe Hart responded: Rooney said: “I think this is absolutely disgraceful, I really do.
“I know about UEFA, but before Euro 2012 I was given a three-match suspension. I was scheduled to miss three group games, but they told me that if I went to Switzerland and did a training session with a bunch of kids, I would be suspended for the third game. I didn’t want a three-match ban, so I agreed, but I thought it was wrong.”
“For this to be a suspension, they have to take away the red card, which is probably the right decision, and then he can play. But a one-year suspension? I think this is a complete disgrace. Infantino should be ashamed of this.”
“The sportsmanship of this game is at stake here. If I were against the Americans, I would be absolutely pissed. It’s wrong on every level. If you’re an England player or a Mexican player tonight and you get a red card, are you going to play in the next game? Where does that stop?”
Rooney’s colleague Mika Richards responded: “Isn’t that a total travesty? That wasn’t a red card. Balogun was trying to protect the ball and he fell down. As it happens, football is a contact sport. A one-year suspension makes a mockery of the entire competition.”
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Folarin Balogun is sent off for a foul on Bosnia’s Tarik Mujaremović (Image: Getty)
“As you (Wayne) said, if it happens again tonight, they’ll say, ‘You did it for one person…’ This is all to keep the big stars in the tournament. America is one of the co-hosts. We all know what that is. FIFA needs to do better.”
BBC presenter Cates denied Richards’ comments, saying: “We don’t know what it is.” Before that, Rooney continued: “It has nothing to do with the World Cup because it might affect not missing the World Cup qualifiers. It has nothing to do with the World Cup because it’s being ignored.”
Richards added: “We have to be honest about this situation. It left a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths. When integrity is at stake in a big tournament like this, that’s not enough for that to happen.”
“We are surprised by this decision. This decision is in direct contradiction to the provisions of the 2026 World Cup Laws,” the Belgian Football Association said in a statement.
“The automatic nature of such a suspension was also explicitly reaffirmed in the 2026 World Cup Circular No. 16, which was distributed to all participating Member Associations on 12 May 2026. The same rule will be repeated in all match coordination meetings before each match and in all workshop presentations of the 2026 World Cup.
“The Belgian Football Association is considering all possible options in order to protect the legitimate rights of all participating teams and uphold the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both in this World Cup and in future tournaments.”
