Folarin Balogun is starting for the United States in their round of 16 World Cup game against Belgium.Amid 48 hours of chaos, Mauricio Pochettino has remained calm, and stuck with the same starting line-up that has served him and the US so well through this tournament.Balogun was sent off but his one-match suspension has been suspended for a yearGettyBalogun has led the line for the US throughout the tournamentGettyAnd Pochettino has gone through with starting Balogun as the Argentine named an unchanged team.USA XI: Freese, Freeman, Richards, Ream, Robinson, Adams, McKennie, Tillman, Dest, Pulisic, BalogunBelgium XI: Courtois, Castagne, Mechele, Ngoy, De Cuyper, Onana, Raskin, Tielemans, Lukebakio, Trossard, De KetelaeretalkSPORT’s USMNT correspondent Ben Jacobs, in Seattle for the game, confirmed the intention from Pochettino had always been to start with Balogun once the process had played out.“The manner in which it was celebrated that he was eligible would equally suggest that he was going to start,” Jacobs said.“The fact that US Soccer knew that this was a possibility, that the red card could be overturned as early as 24 hours after the game.“When people say Pochettino had been planning a week with a different 11, I’m not so sure that that’s the case.”Confirmation of the team news came a couple of hours after details of Balogun’s fine for being sent off were revealed, a $40,000 fine to go with his suspended one game ban.Half of that fine is payable by US Soccer.Balogun was controversially sent off in the round of 32 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina, incurring a one-game suspension that ruled him out of Monday’s night game in Seattle.View Tweet: https://t.co/96XeLdzGHJThe feeling was that PSV Eindhoven forward Ricardo Pepi, who has scored four goals at these World Cup finals so far, would come in for Monaco striker Balogun.However, an unprecedented couple of days have seen that ban initially turned into a one-match ban, suspended for a year, making him available to start the game.The intervention of US president Donald Trump further stirred the controversy, while FIFA present Gianni Infantino has also weighed in.The Belgian FA were furious, and lodged an appeal, but that appeal failed on Monday afternoon – just hours before the game was due to kick off.Team USA are aiming for a first quarter-final since 2002 in South Korea and Japan when they beat Mexico to reach the last eight before being beaten by Germany.Pochettino has the US on the brink of just a second appearance in the World Cup quarter-finalsgettyAwaiting them on Friday night in Los Angeles – if they see off Belgium – are European champions Spain, who beat Portugal earlier on Monday evening in Dallas, to end Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup career.Pochettino had spoken passionately earlier on Sunday, before the decision was confirmed, about the decision to make Balogun available.“Everyone that really loves the sport and trusts ethics and integrity, I think we celebrate all that decision,” said Pochettino at his press conference ahead of the game.“We were punished enough against Bosnia Herzegovina to play with 10 men for 30 minutes, a decision that was completely unfair. 99.9% of people agree there was an unfair red card. “If I am in the opposite dugout, I celebrate, because to lose a game in the World Cup is tough for a player, and if a player that we are going to face is in an unfair way suspended, and he cannot be able to play for your national team, it’s really tough.”FIFA Disciplinary Committee statement on Balogun redOn 1 July 2026, during the FIFA World Cup 2026 match between USA and Bosnia & Herzegovina, USA player Folarin Balogun was sent off on a red card in the 64th minute for serious foul play following a VAR review. After the match, he entered the field of play to celebrate with his teammates despite his expulsion.On 2 July 2026, FIFA opened disciplinary proceedings against Balogun for possible breaches of 66 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (expulsion and match suspension related to the red card) and Article 14 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (misconduct of players related to the celebration).On 5 July 2026, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee found Balogun guilty of both infringements, imposed a one-match suspension (suspended on probation for one year) and a USD 40,000 fine, and notified the parties of the decision.With respect to the sporting sanction, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee imposed a one-match suspension. The decision specifically stated that this suspension included the automatic suspension that would otherwise have been served in the forthcoming FIFA World Cup match USA v. Belgium, scheduled for 6 July 2026. In practical terms, absent any further measure by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, Balogun would have been ineligible to participate in that match.However, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee went on to apply Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, under which it has discretion to suspend the implementation of any disciplinary measures, and ordered that the implementation of the one-match suspension be suspended for a probationary period of one year. As a result, Balogun is not required to immediately serve the suspension. Instead, the sanction remains dormant during the probationary period and will only be activated if he commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during that one-year period. Should such a subsequent offence occur, the suspended one-match ban would be enforced in addition to any new sanction imposed for the later misconduct.In addition to the suspended match ban, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee imposed a fine of USD 40,000, allocating half of the amount to the violation of Article 14 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code and half to the violation of Article 66 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. The U.S. Soccer Federation was declared jointly liable for payment of the fine pursuant to Article 6.5 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.Firstly, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee (as any other FIFA judicial body) is independent as provided by the FIFA Statutes and the FIFA Disciplinary Code. The chairpersons, deputy chairpersons and other members of the FIFA judicial bodies fulfil the independence criteria as defined in the FIFA Governance Regulations to ensure their impartiality.Secondly, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee did not reverse the referee’s on-field sending-off of Mr. Balogun but rather the FIFA Disciplinary Committee upheld the one-game suspension of Mr. Balogun as a result of the red card he was shown during on July 1, 2026. The FIFA Disciplinary Committee only decided on the further disciplinary sanctions to be imposed following the red card.Article 66.4 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code states that “a sending-off automatically incurs suspension from the subsequent match”. Similarly, Article 10.5 of the Regulations for the FIFA World Cup 26 provides that “if a player or team official is sent off as a result of a direct or indirect red card (second caution), they will automatically be suspended from their team’s subsequent match. In addition, further sanctions may be imposed”.Consistent with Article 27 of the FDC, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee decided to suspend for a probationary period of one (1) year the implementation of the automatic match suspension it imposed under Article 66.4 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code and Article 10.5 of the Regulations for the FIFA World Cup 26. Said suspension of the implementation was decided considering all of the specific circumstances surrounding the incident and evidence available.Under Article 27 of the FDC, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has the discretion to suspend the implementation of any disciplinary measures so long as they do not relate to match manipulation—which, of course, did not occur here. It should be added that employment of art. 27 FDC is not unprecedented, as similar decisions have previously been issued during the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers.There are no provisions in the FIFA Disciplinary Code and the Regulations for the FIFA World Cup 26, that prohibit the FIFA Disciplinary Committee from exercising its discretion under Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. The exercise of such discretion is fully consistent with the general guiding principles for the determination of the applicable disciplinary sanction pursuant to Article 25 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.Reviewing the legal consequences of red cards in football is nothing new in the modern game. For instance, in the majority of top-tier leagues belonging to UEFA-affiliated member associations – the overturning of red cards is a common disciplinary measure, yet this has never raised concerns about crossing any “red line”. And again, it should be emphasised that in the decision under scrutiny, the red card was not overturned. Suspending the effects of a red card based on an explicit provision of the applicable regulations is a much more balanced measure.Stay up to date on all things USMNT across our talkSPORT platforms – subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest news, opinion, exclusive interviews and our daily unfiltered, unscripted show ‘The S* Word, from 8am ET.