U.S. faces Belgium today after Trump called FIFA and a red card was 'suspended'

The U.S. is back in action at the World Cup today in a Round of 16 match against Belgium. The team will have a key striker in the lineup after a much-talked about red card given in the last game.

U.S. forward Folarin Balogun tangled legs with a defender from Bosnia-Herzegovina, stepping on his ankle. Balogun says it was unintentional. Still, he was shown the red card, which meant he was booted from the rest of that game as well as today's, against Belgium. But after President Trump called FIFA’s president about the incident, a FIFA disciplinary committee took the highly unusual step of suspending Balogun’s suspension for one year, making him eligible to play immediately.

The Royal Belgian Football Federation said in a statement that it was "astonished" by FIFA's decision. European soccer's governing body criticized FIFA’s decision as “incomprehensible.” And a spokeswoman for the European Commission said that, while the EU respects "the autonomy of sport" and "the right of sports federations to decide on the criteria under which participants compete," she stressed the need for “fair play and transparent competition.”

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