On Monday, the European Commissioner for Sports, Glenn Micallef, described as wrong FIFA’s decision to suspend the expulsion of American forward Florian Balogun, who will be able to play in the match against Belgium in the 2026 World Cup round of 16 .
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“Many football fans, including former players, have already spoken out about Balogun’s suspension. As a fan, I also believe it was the wrong decision,” Micallef said through social networks.
The Maltese politician stressed that decisions on sporting matters rest with sporting bodies, not politicians, and warned that influencing these resolutions would undermine the sport autonomy. Likewise, he demanded action against the instrumentalization of sport for political purposes.
For her part, the spokesperson for the European Commission, Eva Hrncirova, avoided commenting on particular cases, but reiterated the importance of respecting the sport autonomy and the federations right to decide with objective and transparent criteria.
Trump destroyed the international order and rules.
Most people, “We don’t care about politics.”
Now he destroys the football rules.
America’s disrespect for rules is like a cancer. No area can be immune. pic.twitter.com/5FdWgsL3P0
— Li Zexin 李泽欣 (@XH_Lee23) July 6, 2026
These statements add to the criticism of the Royal Belgian Football Federation and the Belgian Executive, who rejected the pardon granted by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee to Balogun, the United States’ top scorer with three goals in the tournament. The Monaco striker received a direct red card in the second half of the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, following a VAR review.
FIFA justified its decision based on article 27 of its Disciplinary Code, which allows the suspension of a previously imposed disciplinary sanction execution.
In contrast, U.S. President Donald Trump thanked world soccer’s governing body for doing the right thing and reversing what he considered an injustice.
This Tuesday the American team and the Belgian team will face each other in Seattle, in a decisive match to define who will advance to the quarterfinals of the World Cup.
#WorldCup2026 | FULL TIME
The United Statesare through to the Round of 16 after defeating Bosnia and Herzegovina
2-0.
The U.S. secure the last remaining spot in the next round and will now face Belgium.#USA #BosniaAndHerzegovina #FIFAWorldCup #TelesurEnglish pic.twitter.com/fLFRfImEpH
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) July 2, 2026
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