Who would have thought that Folarin Balogun’s ban situation would divide the entire US into parts? Their own fans didn’t accept the fact that Balogun’s suspension was lifted, and that was clearly visible in the US game against Belgium. The team lost with a 1-4 record, but what cut deep was that the US won a fanbase that was cheering for Belgium. That didn’t sit well with Dave Portnoy, and even Brian Schottenheimer’s wife supported his take.

“I’m going to need some fact-checking from fact-checkers, but I’ve seen a lot of talk that this has been done before in the World Cup, like Ronaldo had his suspension pushed off and a bunch of things,” Dave Portnoy said on the Barstool Sports podcast. “So it’s not the first time this has ever happened. It was the right call, and this has united a nation. I’ll also say, and I know, T-Bob, you’re not a Trump guy, and I don’t know people’s politics.

If you are against this and you’re a United States citizen, you’ll be deported. I want you out of the country. If you have a problem with this guy playing because you’re letting politics get in the way, and you’re like, ‘Trump plays a phone call, and you think this is wrong,’ you’re deported. I want you on the first bus, plane, or train. See ya; go live somewhere else. This is about winning soccer.”

Somehow, the entire decision to rule out one game suspension against Balogun turned political. Even Brian Schottenheimer’s wife, Gemmi Schottenheimer, supported Portnoy and reshared his IG post on story and said, “1000%.”

The debate started when, in the United States’ 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Folarin Balogun accidentally stepped on Tarik Muharemovic’s ankle and calf while trying to win the ball. The referee watched the incident again using VAR and gave Balogun a red card in the 65th minute. Under FIFA’s rules, a red card normally means the player must miss the team’s next match automatically.

FIFA later decided to temporarily stop Folarin Balogun’s one-match suspension, which allowed him to play against Belgium in the Round of 16. This happened after US President Donald Trump, along with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and White House task force head Andrew Giuliani, helped put together a legal team to challenge the red card.

Trump also reportedly called FIFA President Gianni Infantino to say that an appeal had been submitted and that he believed the referee’s decision was wrong. After that, FIFA used one of its rules to temporarily stop Balogun’s automatic one-match ban.

The rule states: “The judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure. By suspending the implementation of the sanction, the judicial body subjects the person sanctioned to a probationary period of one to four years.”

FIFA did it before, too. Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo received a red card in one of Portugal’s World Cup qualifying matches. FIFA gave him a three-match ban, which normally meant he would miss Portugal’s last qualifying game and the first two World Cup matches.

Instead, FIFA made a different decision. Ronaldo served only the first match of the ban right away, while the other two matches were delayed for one year. This allowed him to play in the World Cup. If Ronaldo retires from international football before the delayed suspension is used, he may never have to serve those two matches.

Folarin Balogun’s case is different because his red card came during the World Cup itself, but Ronaldo’s case shows that FIFA has the power to delay or suspend a player’s ban in certain situations. And that’s exactly what Portnoy was trying to point at. He is not the only one who’s saying it.

Former NFL QB calls out US fanbase

The US team has never won the FIFA World Cup, and the last time they were close to it was back in 1930 when they finished in third place. But this year, the chances were close until Belgium ended their chances with a 1-4 finish. Now, being a US fan, Balogun’s suspension cancellation should have turned into a massive reason for their happiness, but they turned it political because President Donald Trump got involved in it.

And that idea of not supporting your own country didn’t sit well with former QB Robert Griffin III as he took it to X and called them out.

“If you are a US citizen and you aren’t rooting for the USA against Belgium, you are a traitor,” former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III said on X. “No other way to put it. You can’t be trusted if you are rooting against your own country in the World Cup.”

The fear is not about how this decision will impact future generations but about Trump’s involvement in it. And at the end, the US eventually lost despite their efforts to save their own player.