The suspended sentence means that Balogun will have a one-year probationary period. If he commits a similar "infringement" — i.e., another red card or similar violation — during that span, the one-game ban will be added to whatever punishment he's given for the new infringement.
The statement marks yet another flip-flop for FIFA, which has tried to appease multiple parties in the fallout from Balogun's red card. And throughout the statement, the disciplinary committee appeared to be a bit defensive about the ruling: After clarifying that the committee is independent from FIFA, the statement also said that the committee "did not reverse the referee's on-field sending-off" but instead "upheld the one-game suspension."
The probationary period, per the committee, "was decided considering all of the specific circumstances surrounding the incident and evidence available."
"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," the statement read.
Mauricio Pochettino defends FIFA's Folarin Balogun decision, says USMNT was 'punished enough'
The committee also made a point of saying that the use of Article 27 "is not unprecedented," pointing to "similar decisions" during 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
"Reviewing the legal consequences of red cards in football is nothing new in the modern game," the statement read. "And again, it should be emphasized 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."
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