Neville says FIFA's Balogun red card reprieve 'absolutely stinks' ahead of USA vs Belgium

Gary Neville, Ian Wright and Roy Keane have rounded on FIFA after the governing body took the unprecedented step of suspending Folarin Balogun’s one-game ban, clearing the USA striker to face Belgium in their World Cup last-16 tie.

Balogun was sent off during the United States’ last-32 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina after appearing to accidentally make contact with defender Tarik Muharemovic. On Sunday, FIFA’s disciplinary committee announced it was invoking Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code to suspend the sanction, meaning Balogun will only serve the ban if he commits a similar offence within the next 12 months.

Speaking on ITV, Neville did not hold back. “It absolutely stinks,” he said. “Let’s be really clear. But what I would say is the thing that stinks the most is there should be a review process in place. I actually didn’t think it was a red card, and I think there should be a process which allows it to be overturned. But if there’s no process for it to be overturned, and then somehow FIFA from nowhere have just decided to basically let a player play, and the rules [should be] the same for everybody. I would be absolutely raging if I was Belgium, and every other team in the tournament that’s had a player sent off that might think it’s been a little bit hard done to.”

Ian Wright was equally scathing. “We’re talking about integrity, people talking about transparency, but you look at some of the things that’s happened in this tournament with certain teams, it’s been shameful how things can happen, especially as an American player, whether he’s guilty of what he’s done, whether we think he shouldn’t have got it or not.”

Roy Keane was more blunt: “It seems unfair because it is unfair. It seems like a bit of a pals’ act, shall we say.”

Donald Trump welcomed the ruling on his Truth Social platform, writing: “Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!” Belgium’s FA, however, said it was “astonished” and would be “investigating all potential options” in response.

The decision drew comparisons to a similarly contentious ruling before the tournament, when Cristiano Ronaldo had a red card suspended in time for Portugal’s opening group game — a precedent that has done little to quiet critics who question the consistency of FIFA’s disciplinary process.