In The Mixer’s World Cup special

Everything you need to know about the World Cup – England updates, the games to watch and stories you missed – in five minutes, at 1pm, every day.

FIFA’s World Cup descended into farce on Sunday – after the extraordinary decision to suspend a one-match ban for a USA player.

In a move which sparked major outcry online, the governing body confirmed that USA’s starting striker Folarin Balogun is now free to face Belgium in the last 16 despite being red-carded in the US’s match against Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 1.

Moments after the announcement, President Donald Trump thanked Fifa for ‘reversing a great injustice’ in a post on Truth Social.

Trump, a close friend of FIFA President Gianni Infantino, wrote: ‘Thank you to Fifa for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice! President DONALD J. TRUMP.’

However, it was later revealed that Trump had called FIFA President Infantino on Wednesday and asked him to review the suspension of the United States’ top goal scorer in the competition, according to the New York Times.

The decision has also sparked anger in Belgium, who warned they are ‘investigating all options after the ‘astonishing’ move.

The striker was sent off for a tackle during their 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina

Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Sunday morning to praise FIFA for ‘doing what was right’ 

Meanwhile, a FIFA statement read: ‘In line with article 27 of the Fifa disciplinary code, the implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year.

‘If Folarin Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.’

Before reports revealed that Trump had called Infantino over the matter, the US President’s post on Truth Social sparked major speculation on social media that he had some involvement in FIFA’s decision to suspend Balogun’s ban, which was further fueled by another social media post from Barstool Sports boss Dave Portnoy.

Hours before FIFA’s decision was confirmed, Portnoy had posted on X: ‘Davey Pitch’s futbul [sic] sources are saying a certain red card may be soon overturned’. 

Then, once news of Balogun’s suspended ban broke, the Barstool Sports boss returned to social media to hint that Trump did in fact play a part in the decision.

Alongside a doctored image of Portnoy and Trump standing together, with ‘US Soccer’ caps on, he wrote: ‘Alot of people are asking me how this red card got reversed. What happened behind the scenes? Who got it done? 

‘Who were my sources that made me confident enough to stake my entire reputation on this Davey Pitch bomb. Well a great journalist never reveals their sources. Sorry’.

FIFA could now find itself plunged into a mid-tournament legal battle. An incredulous Belgian FA said it was ‘astonished’ at the decision and that it was ‘investigating all options’ to ‘protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport’. 

In an apoplectic statement, they said: ‘The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) is astonished by FIFA’s decision to declare suspended United States player Folarin Balogun eligible to play in the USA–Belgium match on Monday, 6 July at 5:00 p.m.

‘FIFA bases its decision on Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. This provision states that the FIFA Disciplinary Committee may decide to suspend the enforcement of a previously imposed disciplinary sanction.

‘However, Article 66.4 of the same FIFA Disciplinary Code clearly provides that a red card (sending-off) automatically results in a suspension for the team’s next match, as has been the case for all previous red cards issued during this FIFA World Cup.

‘Furthermore, and irrespective of the above, the decision is in direct contradiction with the provisions of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Competition Regulations, as set out in Article 10.5: “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.”

‘The automatic nature of such a suspension was also explicitly reaffirmed in FIFA World Cup 2026 Circular No. 16, which was distributed to all participating member associations on 12 May 2026.

The decision to show Balogun a straight red card sparked widespread fury on social media

Advertisement

‘The same rule is reiterated at every FIFA World Cup 2026 Match Coordination Meeting prior to each match and is included in all FIFA World Cup 2026 workshop presentations.

‘In order to safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both at this FIFA World Cup and at future editions of the tournament, the RBFA is investigating all potential options.’

Pascale Van Damme, the Belgian FA president who is a member of the Fifa Council, is understood to have flown in to Seattle on Sunday amid ongoing discussions on the matter. 

FIFA are yet to respond to the Belgian FA’s statement. 

In response to FIFA’s decision, the USMNT said on Sunday: ‘We accept the decision of the Disciplinary Committee and are pleased that Folarin Balogun is eligible to compete tomorrow. 

‘Our full attention is focused on the Round of 16 match against Belgium in Seattle, and we look forward to the continued support of our amazing fans.’ 

The Daily Mail understands that the USMNT were informed about the decision on Sunday morning. However, the squad were not told straight away and later found out through social media.

USA star Chris Richards explained on Sunday: ‘We weren’t quite sure if it was true or not. I think everyone knows with AI and this and that, there can be a few question marks. 

‘But ultimately we found out through social media, so it was cool to finally get the confirmation that it was true’.

‘I think a yellow card would have been fair due to it not being intentional,’ Balogun had said

FIFA president Gianni Infantino pictured alongside Donald Trump last month

Balogun broke his silence on the matter in the days that followed the USA’s 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, insisting that he felt a yellow card would’ve been fair.

‘First and foremost, it was totally unintentional, which I’m sure a lot of people know. But, you know, I think the choice of the referee was, of course, his choice, but I don’t think it was the correct call,’ he told reporters on Friday. 

‘I think a yellow card would have been fair due to it not being intentional. There’s not many places I can place my foot in such a scenario. But it’s happened, and it’s something that I have to accept and move forward from.’ 

Reacting to the news on Sunday, USA star Christian Pulisic said: ‘We found out about it just coming over here, so yeah, at first you’re like, oh, really? Like, is this real? 

‘And like, oh, this is great news. Obviously, we’re just happy to have [him]’.

Under Article 10.5 of FIFA’s tournament regulations, the dismissal automatically carries a mandatory one-game suspension.

Multiple FIFA officials had previously confirmed that national teams are prohibited from formally appealing red cards or the subsequent disciplinary sanctions.

However, the governing body’s judicial committee utilized a rare stipulation within Article 27 of the disciplinary code to circumvent the immediate ban.

The specific regulation allows the committee to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure.

Hours before the news was official, Barstool Sports boss Dave Portnoy posted this on X 

Once Balogun’s suspended ban was confirmed, Portnoy returned to X with this post – hinting that US President Trump played a role in FIFA’s decision

It serves as a massive boost to USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino ahead of the game

The disciplinary body recently applied the exact same probationary regulation to Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of the tournament.

The forward was initially facing a ban following a violent conduct dismissal during a World Cup qualifying match against the Republic of Ireland in November 2025.

Ronaldo was sent off after catching defender Dara O’Shea with a trailing elbow during a 2-0 defeat in Dublin.

However, after the Portugal captain served a one-game suspension during the team’s subsequent 9-1 victory over Armenia, FIFA intervened.

The governing body suspended the final two matches of the ban under a one-year probation period, clearing the five-time Ballon d’Or winner to lead his country from the start of the current tournament.

By JONATHAN MCEVOY, SPORTS WRITER AND DAILY MAIL’S MOTOR RACING WRITER

Published: 13:18 BST, 5 July 2026 | Updated: 20:59 BST, 5 July 2026

Christian Horner returned to the Formula One paddock for the first time since he was sacked by Red Bull with the Netflix cameras in tow, and was reassured by the sport’s ruler Mohammed Ben Sulayem that he will definitely be back on the pit wall.

He received the ringing endorsement ahead of the British Grand Prix, the scene of his 405th and so far final race 12 months ago.

Advertisement

Ben Sulayem, the FIA president, rang Horner soon after he breezed in through Silverstone’s turnstiles and summoned him into the top floor of the governing body’s hospitality area. The two men hugged, creating the impression for the five journalists present in the room that he is fully behind Horner landing another high-profile role. 

‘He will be back,’ declared Ben Sulayem. ‘I would like to see that. I believe that when you have a team you have to forget about what the person is doing, his personality, and ask if you want the result or not?

‘Please. Everybody makes mistakes, but did he deliver? What do you want? Do you want to win or not? Do you want to give it a try or not? It is not for me to say where he will end up, even if I knew. 

‘Talking about behaviour, he shouldn’t go and kill someone, or drink and drive, but there is bad behaviour and behaviours. But it is about results.’

Advertisement

Christian Horner was asked on Sky about his immediate plans for a return to the sport

Horner and his Spice Girl wife Geri were seen at Royal Ascot together last month  

Horner was relieved of his responsibilities by Red Bull after an internal power struggle 48 hours after last year’s British race and placed on gardening leave lasting until March of this year.

Advertisement

By then he was undermined by the scandal that engulfed him over coercive text messages he allegedly sent to a female employee. He was twice cleared of wrongdoing by internal inquiries claimed to have been conducted by two unnamed KCs. 

Horner, 52, who arrived at the track without Spice Girl wife Geri, said: ‘I would like to come back but it may be the autumn or next spring before anything happens. I am happy doing what I am doing but would like to return if and when the right opportunity presents itself. There are a lot of moving parts.’

He joked he would go to the stewards room to watch the race. ‘Toto (Wolff, his old sparring partner at Mercedes) would get a penalty on lap one. And lap two and three.’

He added: ‘I’d only look at doing the right thing if I had the opportunity to win at the end of the day. 

Advertisement

‘F1 is in such a great place, the racing has been super watching it from behind the scenes. And the interest is sky high of people who want to get involved so we’ll see. I’m in no rush.’

Horner is believed to favour a return in the red of Ferrari, but is also linked with Aston Martin and to buying a 24 per cent stake in Alpine. ‘It’s the only part of a team for sale in F1,’ he pointed out. 

Another option is leading a new entrant into the sport in 2031, and he has spoken to Chinese manufacturer BYD about the possibility, though these conversations are at a very early stage. 

By WILL HALLOWELL, NEWS REPORTER

Published: 18:19 BST, 5 July 2026 | Updated: 20:48 BST, 5 July 2026

A cricket match had to be abandoned after a runaway bull stormed the playing field and charged at players.

The North East Premier League fixture at Burnopfield Cricket Club near Newcastle was called off on Saturday evening despite efforts to remove the animal from the ground.

Advertisement

Martin Oswell, director of the Tyneside club, said the young bull, thought to tip the scales at 800kg, escaped from a nearby farm and travelled about a mile to the playing field where it arrived at around 3pm.

He said: ‘We couldn’t get rid of it. There was no chance that the game was going to restart before the cut-off time.

‘At first it was quite novel, it was quite funny – but we never thought it was going to impact on our game being abandoned.’

Mr Oswell added that the bull’s owner drove a cow to the cricket club in an effort to entice the animal off the field but to no avail.

Advertisement

He said: ‘The farmer who owns the bull arrived at the ground and tried at first to sort of cajole it and get it into a pen, but it failed. The bull was very frightened – it was spooked.’

Safety concerns quickly arose as the bull could be seen charging at players and farmers who attempted to recapture it.

A ‘dangerous’ bull wreaked havoc at a cricket club near Newcastle after it stormed the field mid-match and charged at players

Advertisement

The bull, which is believed to have weighed around 800kg, eventually left ‘of its own accord’

Mr Oswell said: ‘Two of the farmers tried to stop the bull and it actually hit one of them.

‘He was okay but I mean the beast probably weighed about 800kg. It was a juvenile bull, incredibly fit, athletic – quite frankly, it was quite dangerous.’

Police were eventually called to the scene before the bull left ‘of its own accord’.

Advertisement

Burnopfield CC had scored 226 runs against opponents Hetton Lyons when the match was interrupted.

‘We’re second top of the North East Premier League, so it was an important game for us,’ Mr Oswell said.

‘And it was a game that I think we had a really good chance of winning. It would have been a really, really good game of cricket.’

NEW YORK (AP) — Mitchell Robinson says the hand injury that left his status uncertain for the New York Knicks’ NBA Finals opener came after he punched a truck amid concern over his younger brother’s health.

Robinson, who last week agreed to leave the Knicks and sign with the Boston Celtics, wrote a Facebook post Sunday that addressed the injury and other mental health concerns he had during the season.

His injury emerged after the Knicks eliminated Cleveland in the Eastern Conference finals and was strange because coach Mike Brown said it didn’t happen on the court. It was originally called a broken bone in his hand.

But Robinson clarified Sunday that it was an injury to his knuckle after he returned from the Knicks’ victory in Game 4 and learned one of his brothers had been hurt in a serious car crash.

“Upon returning to New York, I received an unexpected phone call, and my family members contacted me, informing me that my youngest brother had been involved in a car accident,” Robinson wrote.

“As the eldest sibling, I felt a deep sense of concern, and I immediately went into panic mode. I began returning calls and texts, and when I FaceTimed my brother, I thought he was deceased. He was wearing a neck brace, unresponsive, and not speaking. I broke down in tears, feeling like a failure for not being able to protect my siblings. Being 910 miles away, I felt helpless. In a moment of frustration, I banged my hand on my truck.”

Robinson has a fondness for trucks — one of his was in the Knicks’ championship parade — but said his family was most important to him and referenced challenges that he faced last season while helping lead the Knicks to their first NBA title in 53 years.

“Before judging someone, it is essential to understand their circumstances, which may not be publicly known. Life is unpredictable, and it is how we respond to challenges that truly matters,” Robinson wrote, adding that he consulted with doctors.

“So at the end of the day I battled with so much throughout this season even made a huge sacrifice to not see my daughter as much this season because I needed to focus and lock in so she can have a better future than I did.”

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

In The Mixer’s World Cup special

Everything you need to know about the World Cup – England updates, the games to watch and stories you missed – in five minutes, at 1pm, every day.

Hello and welcome to coverage from Wimbledon as Novak Djokovic continues his bid for a 25th grand slam title today.

The Serbian claimed his 105th victory at SW19 with a hard-fought win over Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech. Success today would give him sole ownership of second place on the all-time list of most Wimbledon match-wins ahead of Roger Federer with whom he drew level on Friday while also equalling the Swiss maestro’s record of 18 fourth-round appearances.

“I propose a match-up between me and Roger ​for 106,” seven-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic joked in his on-court interview. Let’s just stop it here and call Roger to come.”

A possible semi-final showdown with Jannik Sinner looms large on the horizon and Djokovic insists he feels good about his form and fitness.

“For sure [I feel] better, fresher. I mean, more energy now after three matches than I have had in Paris,” he said.

“But it’s also normal and logical to expect that, considering the difference in the surface and physicality of the points and the effort that has to go in every shot with spin and everything on clay, it’s quite different here. It doesn’t mean that I’m not spending any energy on the court. Of course, I am. And the deeper I go into the tournament, obviously the less fresh I will be physically, but I’m trying to maintain that to an optimal level. But as I said, no major issues. I’m feeling fine.”

Djokovic’s opponent today is Russian Roman Safiullin, who claimed an impressive win over Brazilian 24th seed Joao Fonseca.

Ahead of facing Djokovic, he said: “I played against him three times and only one time I was really close to getting a set against him. The other two times he destroyed me. Hopefully this time I will give him problems and make him suffer on the court.”

Mount Etna volcano has erupted today in Sicily, Italy, producing massive ash clouds that have forced flight cancellations at Catania Airport

A red alert has been declared and flights have been thrown into chaos in Italy as Mount Etna spews vast clouds of ash high into the sky.

Local news outlet La Sicilia reports that Catania Airport has been compelled to cancel all incoming flights amid serious safety concerns as the volcano blankets Sicily in ash.

Flight monitoring service Flight Radar 24 is showing all arriving flights at Catania Airport as cancelled.

Italy’s flagship carrier ITA has confirmed that all its flights departing and arriving at the airport will be cancelled or rescheduled in response to the ongoing situation, as an ash cloud continues to sweep across the region, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Video footage circulating on social media captures the active volcano on the eastern coast of the Italian island, with ash reportedly beginning to billow from the volcano at around 7.45am this morning before intensifying just before 9am, the Mirror reports.

The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, through the Etna Observatory, has elevated the aviation alert from orange to red following today’s activity at the summit.

According to La Sicilia, the intense volcanic ash emissions have triggered a warning for aviation that the phenomenon “is in full swing”.

A red alert is issued when an ash cloud presents a potential hazard to aircraft. Experts are continuing to monitor the situation via visual and thermal cameras positioned on the volcano.

Mount Etna ranks among Europe’s highest and most active stratovolcanoes, located on the east coast of Sicily in Catania, between the cities of Messina and Catania.

The volcano remains in near-continuous activity, with its most recent eruption documented on January 1 this year.

Recent weeks have seen local sources report gradual lava movement from a fissure which emerged at approximately 3,000 metres near the base of the Northeast Crater.

Get MEN Premium now for just £1 HERE – or get involved in our WhatsApp group by clicking HERE.

The INGV, the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, confirmed it detected activity in the upper Valle del Leone on June 26.

Rob Reiner made a posthumous cameo in Larry David’s new show Life, Larry, And The Pursuit Of Unhappiness which marked his final on-screen appearance before his tragic death. 

The late director played the role of George Washington in episode two of the satirical HBO Max series which had been filmed one month before his passing.

Reiner and wife Michele were fatally stabbed inside their Brentwood, California home on December 14, 2025. Their son Nick was arrested and charged in the double murder, which he has entered a not guilty plea to. 

Reiner, whose role had been kept a secret until the episode aired on Friday, could be seen announcing that he would not be running for a third term in a speech to the colonists. 

The moment appeared to be a subtle dig at President Donald Trump, who has previously floated the idea on running for a third term. 

As Reiner made the announcement while playing the role of the first president of the United States, he added, ‘I believe that no man should serve more than two terms as president.

The late director played the role of George Washington in episode two of the satirical HBO Max series which had been filmed one month before his passing

‘And I hope that future presidents will follow my lead,’ he continued in the scene. 

David, who played one of the colonists, then called out a question while standing amidst the crowd. 

‘What if some future president doesn’t follow your lead and runs for a third term?’ he asked, which prompted Reiner to respond that a constitutional amendment would ‘prohibit that.’

David then asked, ‘Well, what if there’s some a**hole in office, some narcissistic pr**k, who doesn’t follow the Constitution?’ 

The actor also added, ‘He could use the presidency to enrich himself and his family. He could send troops into American cities to terrorize and even kill American citizens, all to distract from the fact that he’s friends with a pedophile.’

Jimmy Kimmel also made an appearance in the latest episode as another colonist. 

After David’s comments, the late night talk show host chimed in to question, ‘Are you suggesting that the president would taketh the time to challenge anyone who dare make fun of him? As if he were a big baby?’ 

When Kimmel scoffed at the idea, David said that an ‘insecure, lying a**hole’ would do so. 

‘What if some future president doesn’t follow your lead and runs for a third term?’ David asked, which prompted Reiner to respond that a constitutional amendment would ‘prohibit that’

Jimmy Kimmel also made an appearance in the latest episode as another colonist; seen in May in L.A. 

The skit came to an end as the colonists lashed out at each other and Reiner announced, ‘We’re f***ed,’ which concluded the scene. 

At the end of the episode, an In Memoriam slide appeared with a photo of the late director.

During an interview with Variety, director Jeff Shaffer recalled how he and David wanted Reiner to portray Washington but had one request of the director: Shave his beard.  

‘Rob was like, “Seriously?”‘ Shaffer said, before adding that Reiner was ‘never without his beard, but he really wanted to do the sketch, so he shaved.’

Shaffer called the tragic deaths of Reiner and his wife ‘so incredibly sad’ and explained that July 3 was the ‘perfect time’ to air the episode. 

‘Just let it come out on the Fourth of July weekend, on the 250th, and let it sink in that way.’ 

Reiner was a prolific director whose work included some of the most memorable and endlessly watchable movies of the 1980s and ’90s.

His credits included This is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, A Few Good Men and When Harry Met Sally – during the production of which he met photographer Michele Singer. They wed soon after and were married for 36 years.

During an interview with Variety, director Jeff Shaffer recalled how he and David wanted Reiner to portray Washington but had one request of the director: Shave his beard; Reiner and David seen in 2019 in L.A. 

Advertisement

Reiner was a prolific director whose work included some of the most memorable and endlessly watchable movies of the 1980s and ’90s; seen in 2025 in NYC

The pair welcomed three children: Jake, Nick and Romy. Reiner also adopted daughter Tracy from his first marriage to Penny Marshall. 

Jake opened up about the traumatic experience of learning his parents had been killed late last year, which came as he was at a celebration of life ceremony for a confidante who had died months before. 

He said in an April Substack post, ‘I received a call from my sister Romy telling me our father was dead. Minutes later, she called back telling me our mother was also dead.’

Jake said that ‘the 45-minute Lyft ride from downtown to the west side was unendurable’ and he was ‘in a trance’ upon learning the horrific news.

He continued, ‘The only thing I could focus on was that I needed to get to my childhood home.

‘I needed to get to my sister. I needed to figure out what the hell just happened.’

Jake said that he ‘was robbed of so many things that day,’ noting a number of milestones left empty in the wake of his parents’ tragic deaths.

‘My parents won’t be at my wedding, they won’t get to hold their future grandchild, and they won’t get to see me have the successful career I’m still seeking,’ he said. ‘It simultaneously breaks my heart and enrages me.’

Reiner and wife Michele were fatally stabbed inside their Brentwood, California home on December 14, 2025; seen in 2019 in L.A. 

Jake said in an April Substack post, ‘I received a call from my sister Romy telling me our father was dead. Minutes later, she called back telling me our mother was also dead’; seen in June in L.A. 

Speaking about the deadly incident, Jake said he’s thought about ‘how frightened they must have been’ adding, ‘They were the last people in the world to deserve what happened to them.’ 

Last month in June, Nick Reiner said he was seeking unpaid money from a trust his parents established for him amid his defense against charges that he killed them.

A petition filed by Nick’s civil attorneys in a Los Angeles County court on June 9 says that trustees overseeing the funds have denied them to him without legal justification, and he needs and should get them now.

Nick retained high-profile private lawyer Alan Jackson to represent him, but less than a month later Jackson left the case for reasons he said he couldn’t share.

The new filing reveals that Nick’s siblings, Jake and Romy Reiner, had initially agreed to pay for Jackson, but reversed course.

The filing says that apart from the larger Reiner family trust, which is not at issue, Rob and Michele Reiner established smaller individual trusts for Nick and his siblings. 

It says they left ‘unambiguous instructions’ in Nick’s trust, established in 1993, that he was to receive half its money when he turned 30 and the rest at 35.

But, the filing says, Nick never received the funds he was entitled to at 30, and that the trustee overseeing them since February, attorney Paul R. Kanin, has given ‘a shifting series of excuses and justifications’ to deny Reiner the money.

They include concerns about Nick’s competence that have no bearing on a payout that is mandatory.

Last month in June, Nick Reiner said he was seeking unpaid money from a trust his parents established for him amid his defense against charges that he killed them; seen in February 

Nick says he should also get the money he was to receive at 35 immediately because his defense and his need for basic necessities in jail require it. 

Proceedings in Nick’s murder case are moving slowly. He is scheduled to return to court for a pretrial hearing in September.

He is eligible for the death penalty, but District Attorney Nathan Hochman has said his office has not yet decided whether to seek it.

Authorities have said nothing about possible motives, and leaks in the case have been virtually nonexistent on both sides. 

Donald Trump has sent his words of thanks to FIFA, after the football governing body reversed what he deemed to be a ‘great injustice’ at the World Cup

Donald Trump has thanked FIFA for suspending Folarin Balogun’s one-match ban at the 2026 World Cup – a decision that will allow the midfielder to feature for the USA in their round of 16 showdown with Belgium.

Balogun received a red card during his country’s 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday after dragging his studs down the back of Tarik Muharemovic’s calf.

Despite the dismissal, he will not be required to serve the customary one-match suspension, following FIFA’s unusual decision to defer it for 12 months.

A statement from world football’s governing body read: “In line with article 27 of the Fifa disciplinary code, the implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year.

“If Folarin Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.”

The announcement was warmly received by President Trump, who wasted no time in taking to Truth Social to express his gratitude towards FIFA. He wrote: “Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”

As a result, Balogun will be available for his country’s crucial round of 16 encounter with Belgium, which is set to take place in the early hours of Tuesday morning in Seattle.

Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package

This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more

Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.

Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.

Advertisement

Get the latest World Cup news straight to your inbox by signing up to our Make Football Great Again newsletter now!

The development follows US Secretary of State Marco Rubio being among those who called for the one-match ban to be reconsidered.

Speaking about the match during a news conference, he said: “It was great. They got screwed with that red card. There needs to be an appeal process for that. It’s probably too late for that.”

USA head coach Mauricio Pochettino also addressed the media, explaining: “For me? Never a red card. Never an intention to step on the player. It was a normal action in football that happened by accident.”

GiveMeSport, meanwhile, claim that the White House were in direct contact with Gianni Infantino to appeal for a review of the ban, although the same publication cite that they will have had no influence over the decision due to the powers in Article 27 and the ‘independent nature’ of the disciplinary committee.

According to the Athletic, Chris Richards has spoken about the moment Balogun learnt he would be available for selection the following week, revealing: “Ultimately we found out on social media.”

When asked about Balogun’s reaction, Richards added with a chuckle: “Lit, you know?” The development comes amid some flexibility within FIFA’s disciplinary code concerning player suspensions.

The code reads: “The judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure.

“If the person benefiting from a suspended sanction commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked by the judicial body and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.”