Seattle. US President Donald Trump intervened on behalf of star striker Folarin Balogun, whose red-card suspension was lifted in a decision that allows him to play against Belgium in the World Cup round of 16 on Monday.

Balogun, the United States' leading scorer with three goals in the tournament, received a red card for awkwardly stepping on the right ankle of Tarik Muharemović of Bosnia-Herzegovina during a 2-0 round-of-32 victory on Wednesday, triggering an automatic one-match suspension.

FIFA announced Sunday that the suspension had been lifted, an extraordinary move that drew praise from Trump and outrage from Belgium. It appeared to be the first time since 1962 that a World Cup red card did not result in a suspension.

Trump called FIFA President Gianni Infantino after the match and asked the governing body to review the red card, according to a person familiar with the conversation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.

"Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right and reversing a great injustice!" Trump wrote on social media.

The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) said it was "astonished," while Belgium coach Rudi Garcia mocked FIFA's decision.

"I didn't know that in the offices of FIFA, the fifth of July was the first of April in Europe," Garcia said through a translator, comparing the move to an April Fools' Day joke. "The Belgian federation is defending football in general. It is defending its integrity and its ethics. I think it's the first time in World Cup history that there has been this kind of decision."

Garcia declined to comment when asked whether Belgium would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport or whether he believed Trump's intervention influenced FIFA's decision.

"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 FIFA World Cup and at future editions of the tournament, the RBFA is investigating all potential options," the Belgian federation said in a statement.

American players learned Balogun was available when social media posts began appearing during the team's 10-minute bus ride Sunday morning from its hotel to training at the University of Washington's Husky Soccer Stadium, where players were greeted by Dubs II, the university's Alaskan malamute mascot.

Balogun's red card had become one of the tournament's most controversial decisions. Brazilian referee Raphael Claus initially did not issue a card but sent Balogun off after a video review.

"If you look at the foul, there was zero intent at all," US captain Christian Pulisic said. "I felt like there were much worse ones during this tournament."

FIFA said the implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year.

"If Folarin Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement."

US coach Mauricio Pochettino welcomed the ruling.

"We were punished enough against Bosnia-Herzegovina by playing with 10 men for 30 minutes because of a decision that was completely unfair," he said.

Pochettino, who represented Argentina at the 2002 World Cup, said he was not surprised Trump contacted Infantino.

"I come from a culture — Argentina and Europe — where football is a religion, even more than religion," he said. "If we keep moving forward, maybe tomorrow you'll see that sport is magic. Sport is amazing. It is so powerful. It unites people. It unites a country like ours."

England coach Thomas Tuchel questioned whether future disciplinary decisions could now be challenged, citing yellow cards shown to England's Declan Rice and France's Michael Olise.

"We can now debate endlessly: 'I don't think it's a yellow card,'" Tuchel said. "Where does this end? Where does it stop?"

Balogun's three goals include the winner against Bosnia-Herzegovina. He matched Landon Donovan's three goals at the 2010 World Cup for the second-most by an American in a single tournament, trailing only Bert Patenaude's four in the inaugural World Cup in 1930.

The 25-year-old Monaco forward scored 13 Ligue 1 goals last season and has 12 goals in 30 appearances for the United States. Born in Brooklyn to Nigerian parents living in London, Balogun represented England at youth level before switching his international allegiance to the United States in 2023.

"He strikes fear into a lot of defenders," teammate Chris Richards said.

The host Americans are seeking their first World Cup quarterfinal appearance since 2002. They were eliminated in the round of 16 in 2010, 2014 and 2022, failed to advance from the group stage in 2006 and did not qualify for the 2018 tournament.

The USSF did not make Balogun available to reporters Sunday, but the striker posted a photo of himself in front of U.S. supporters on social media, accompanied by Michael Jackson's hit song "Bad."

On Friday, Balogun said he believed "a yellow card instead of red would have been fair."

FIFA said its decision was based on Article 27 of its disciplinary code, which allows a judicial body to suspend the implementation of a disciplinary sanction and place the player on probation for one to four years.

The governing body has used similar provisions before. In November, FIFA deferred the final two matches of Cristiano Ronaldo's three-match suspension following a red card in a World Cup qualifier against Ireland, allowing him to play at the start of the tournament.

Argentina defender Nicolás Otamendi and Ecuador midfielder Moisés Caicedo also had one-match suspensions deferred after red cards in World Cup qualifiers, making them eligible for their teams' opening matches.

The closest historical parallel came in 1962, when Brazil's Garrincha was sent off in the semifinal against host Chile for kicking an opponent but was cleared to play in the final against Czechoslovakia after an intense lobbying effort that included support from Chilean President Jorge Alessandri. Brazil went on to win its second consecutive World Cup.

"What about the next red card? What happens then?" Norway coach Ståle Solbakken said. "Is there going to be some committee somewhere that is going to take that card away? It's a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad decision that will hurt the World Cup."

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