Tuchel lodges complaint with FA after FIFA rejects Quansah World Cup ban appeal

Thomas Tuchel lodged an immediate complaint with the Football Association after FIFA’s disciplinary committee confirmed a two-match World Cup suspension for Jarell Quansah on Thursday, ruling the England defender out of the quarter-final against Norway and a potential semi-final.

FIFA’s statement confirmed the ban stems from a direct red card shown to Quansah during England’s group-stage match against Mexico at Mexico City Stadium on 5 July 2026, citing a breach of Article 14 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. England have no right of appeal against the decision.

Tuchel’s anger reportedly centres on the process by which referee Alireza Faghan reached his conclusion. According to reports, the official was initially shown only a still image of Quansah’s studs making contact with Jesus Gallardo’s shin, rather than video footage. Tuchel’s position is that a clip would have demonstrated Quansah touched the ball before the contact occurred — a detail he believes could have provided mitigating context, even if IFAB regulations do not automatically factor ball contact into judgements on endangering an opponent.

The England manager had already voiced frustration over the inconsistency of FIFA’s disciplinary process earlier in the tournament. Folarin Balogun’s red card was overturned on review, a decision Tuchel welcomed on its merits but questioned procedurally. “To be clear it was not a red card. VAR got involved. The decision is made. Who overturns this decision and when and on what grounds?” he said. “It’s strange for me. We want consistency.”

Tuchel also pointed to Declan Rice’s yellow card and a booking picked up by France’s Michael Olise as further examples of decisions he felt warranted scrutiny. “I think it is not a yellow card, Declan Rice. Does France get the yellow card back for Olise which was not a yellow card? Where does this start and where does this end?”

France’s own appeal to have Olise’s booking rescinded was unsuccessful, meaning the Bayern Munich winger will face suspension for a potential semi-final if he receives another caution against Morocco.

England’s disciplinary concerns extend beyond Quansah’s absence. Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Nico O’Reilly and Harry Kane are all at risk of suspension through accumulated bookings. At right-back, Reece James is in a race against time to recover from an injury, while Djed Spence is also managing a physical issue ahead of the Norway tie.