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The United States has advanced to the Round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but it will have to prepare for its upcoming match against Belgium as if it will be without one of its best players.
Striker Folarin Balogun scored the first goal in the Americans' 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32, but he was sent off with a straight red card midway through the first half, leaving the U.S. to play a man down the rest of the way.
While the Americans managed to escape with a victory, preserving the clean sheet along the way, they now face the prospect of taking on the 10th-ranked team in the world without their starting striker.
Fans were hoping that the red card decision could be overturned on appeal, which is a normal process in club football competitions such as the English Premier League or the UEFA Champions League.
The Sporting News explains how that process works and whether it's possible the USMNT will have Balogun available for the next match.
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World Cup red card suspension rules
Every player shown a red card during the FIFA World Cup is automatically suspended for one match.
However, FIFA has the ability to change this in either direction, at the discretion of the FIFA disciplinary committee, which can review incidents and decide to either extend or reduce suspensions.
If a suspension cannot be served during the tournament because a team is eliminated, it carries over to that nation’s next official international fixture.
MORE: Player ratings from USMNT win over Bosnia and Herzegovina at the World Cup
Can World Cup teams appeal red cards?
Contrary to most soccer tournaments worldwide, teams can NOT appeal red card decisions which occur during 2026 FIFA World Cup matches.The U.S. can only appeal FIFA’s decision to add additional games to the suspension, which seems unlikely in this case.
This is according to both The Athletic and GiveMeSport, who reached out to FIFA and received confirmation from the football governing body which stated there is no appeal process for red card decisions.
FIFA's 2026 World Cup regulation 9.6 states:
No protests may be made about the referee’s decisions regarding facts connected with play. Such decisions are final and not subject to appeal, unless otherwise stipulated in the FIFA Disciplinary Code.
This is surprising, given FIFA has a dedicated disciplinary committee, chaired by Emirati legal advisor and sports governance executive Mohammed Al Kamali, which has experience adjudicating these appeal decisions.
USMNT midfielder Tyler Adams was asked about this after the win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, to which he replied, "typical FIFA."
However, there may be another avenue, through the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). For the 2026 FIFA World Cup, CAS has set up an ad hoc division on-site to quickly and efficiently resolve disputes during the tournament. It's possible — although not confirmed — that the U.S. may be able to file an appeal with the CAS ad hoc division regarding Folarin Balogun's red card.
However, even if this avenue does technically exist, it would be extremely difficult to envision an overturn being given. Typically, the Court of Arbitration for Sport has shied away from adjudicating referee decisions, preferring to judge on off-field matters such as player availability, the imposing of fines or sporting sanctions, or other procedural matters instead of getting involved in the on-field application of the sport on the pitch itself.
MORE: Explaining why Folarin Balogun was shown a red card vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina
Can FIFA overturn Folarin Balogun's red card suspension?
FIFA does not have the ability to overturn suspensions at their discretion, but they do have the ability to suspend a sentence, which is slightly different, but often effectively the same.
Article 27 of the FIFA disciplinary code states that, "the judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure.
"If the person benefiting from a suspended sanction commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked by the judicial body and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement."
In practice, this means that the punishment is lessened or eliminated, but will be reactivated should the individual commit another offense during the stated period.
This happened with Cristiano Ronaldo prior to the World Cup. He received a red card in the 61st minute of Portugal's penultimate World Cup qualifier against Republic of Ireland. This would have come with a two-match suspension, but FIFA reduced it to one game, with the other game suspended, which conveniently left him eligible to participate at the World Cup."
Sure enough, FIFA did take action on Folarin Balogun's suspension, suspending the ban in the same manner.
According to The Athletic on July 5, the day before the match, FIFA had decided to not overturn the ban, but suspend it, meaning that Balogun would be available to play in the match against Belgium.
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