Thomas Tuchel Questions FIFA After Folarin Balogun Avoids World Cup Suspension

England coach Thomas Tuchel has criticised FIFA’s disciplinary process after the governing body allowed United States striker Folarin Balogun to play despite receiving a red card at the 2026 World Cup.

Naija News reports that Balogun was sent off following a VAR review in the United States’ clash with Bosnia-Herzegovina and was expected to miss Tuesday’s last-16 meeting with Belgium through an automatic suspension.

Instead, FIFA chose not to enforce an immediate ban, making the tournament co-hosts’ leading scorer available for selection.

The decision has raised fresh questions after England defender Jarell Quansah was also dismissed after a VAR review during his side’s 3-2 win over Mexico and is due to miss Saturday’s quarter-final against Norway.

Asked whether England would seek similar treatment for Quansah, Tuchel questioned the consistency of FIFA’s approach.

“Where does this start and where does this end now?” Tuchel said. “Can we overturn it or not overturn it? What’s going on?

“Where to draw the line is the question that I ask. I have no answer to that.

“Do we appeal if a yellow card is not a yellow card? Do we think it is not a red card or who thinks it? Where does this start and where does this end? It’s my question. I don’t have an answer.”

Quansah became the 13th player to be sent off at the 2026 World Cup. The previous 12 players all served suspensions for their country’s next match, with Balogun the only exception.

FIFA relied on a provision in its disciplinary code allowing it to “fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure”, despite tournament regulations stating that any player shown a red card “will automatically be suspended from their team’s subsequent match”.

Tuchel believes the unprecedented intervention has created uncertainty over how disciplinary decisions will be handled for the rest of the competition.

“I think first of all, to be very clear, that it [Balogun] was not a red card,” Tuchel said. “But VAR got involved and obviously three people from VAR and the referee checked it were then of the opinion that it was a red card, so the decision is made.

“Who overturns this decision and when and on what grounds? And how far does this go now? It’s just strange for me. We just want to have consistency in the decisions.

“So, is our yellow card after the first minute against Declan Rice… we can now debate endlessly. I think it is not a yellow card. Do we get this back?

“Does France get the yellow card back for [Michael Olise] which was not a yellow card? Where does this end? Where does it stop?

“I don’t know the rules. I am the wrong person to ask. I will wait and see what’s coming.”