Wayne Rooney speaks after Mexico vs England was delayed (Image: BBC)
Wayne Rooney claims it is “an absolute disgrace” that USA striker Folarin Balogun has had his one-game ban suspended by FIFA. The American is the hosts’ top scorer at the World Cup with three goals but was sent off in the win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in the round of 32. That meant the ex-Arsenal centre-forward was set to miss the last-16 showdown with Belgium in Seattle. But FIFA suddenly announced on Sunday night that his ban had been suspended for a year.
No reasoning was given by the governing body and the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) were left aghast at the decision. The US did not even appeal against the red card. US President Donald Trump said on social media: “Thank you to Fifa for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice! President DONALD J. TRUMP.” Some reports claim Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino and personally requested that the red card be reviewed. The matter was discussed by the BBC pundits after it was announced that the 1am kick-off between Mexico and England was delayed until 2am due to bad weather, leaving the studio with airtime to fill.
After BBC host Kelly Cates explained the Balogun situation, Joe Hart replied: “It doesn’t feel right does it?” Rooney then launched into an angry rant, saying: “I think it’s an absolute disgrace, I really do.
“I know it’s UEFA but I got a three-game ban before Euro 2012. I was due to miss the three group games and I got told if I went over to Switzerland and did a training session with a bunch of kids, my third game would get taken off. I agreed to do it because I didn’t want a three-game ban but I thought that was wrong.
“For this to be suspended, they either take the red card away which is probably the right decision and then he can play. But to suspend it for a year? I think it’s an absolute disgrace. Infantino should be ashamed of this.
“The sportsmanship of this game is in question here. If I’m USA’s opponent, I’d be absolutely fuming. It’s wrong in every way. If you’re an England player tonight or a Mexican player, and you get a red card, do you expect to be playing the next game? Where does it stop?”
Rooney’s colleague Micah Richards then chimed in: “It’s an absolute farce isn’t it? It wasn’t a red card. Balogun was trying to protect the ball and he went down, it happens, football is a contact sport. To have it suspend it for a year makes a mockery of the whole tournament.
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Folarin Balogun was sent off for a foul on Bosnia’s Tarik Muharemovic (Image: Getty)
“Like you said [Wayne], if that happens again tonight, they’ll say ‘you did it for one…’ All this is to keep the big stars in the competition. America are one of the co-hosts. We all know what it is. FIFA need to do better.”
BBC presenter Cates then played Richards’ comments down, saying: “We don’t know what it is.” Before Rooney continued: “It might even affect him not missing a World Cup qualifier, so it’s not going to affect anything to do with the World Cup. It’s been brushed away so it’s not going to have anything to do with the World Cup.”
And Richards added: “We’ve got to be honest about the situation. It’s left a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths. When the integrity comes into question for such a big tournament, for that to happen, it’s just not good enough.”
In their statement, the Belgian FA said: “We are astonished by this decision. This decision is in direct contradiction to the provisions of the World Cup 2026 Competition Regulations.
“The automatic nature of such a suspension was also explicitly reaffirmed in World Cup 2026 Circular No. 16, which was distributed to all participating member associations on 12 May 2026. The same rule is reiterated at every Match Coordination Meeting prior to each match and all World Cup 2026 workshop presentations.
“In order to safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both at this World Cup and at future editions of the tournament, the Belgian FA is investigating all potential options.”