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Wayne Rooney fumes at World Cup 'disgrace' and tells FIFA 'you should be ashamed' in BBC rant

Wayne Rooney has not held back on his thoughts on FIFA's decision to suspend Folarin Balogun's one-match ban after his red card in the last World Cup match

[Wayne Rooney on the BBC]

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Wayne Rooney has made his thoughts on the decision clear. (Image: BBC Sport)

Wayne Rooney has branded it "an absolute disgrace" that USA striker Folarin Balogun has had his one-game ban suspended by FIFA. The American frontman is the hosts' leading goalscorer at the World Cup with three goals, but was shown a red card during the victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina in the round of 32.

The former Arsenal forward had been set to sit out the last-16 clash with Belgium in Seattle. However, FIFA abruptly announced on Sunday night that his one-match ban had been suspended for a year.

No explanation was offered by the governing body, leaving the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) stunned by the ruling. The US hadn't even lodged an appeal against the red card.

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US President Donald Trump posted on social media: "Thank you to Fifa for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice! President DONALD J. TRUMP."

Several reports suggest Trump personally telephoned FIFA president Gianni Infantino to request a review of the red card. The controversy was debated by the BBC punditry panel after it emerged that the 1am kick-off between Mexico and England had been pushed back to 2am owing to adverse weather conditions, leaving the studio with extra airtime to fill

Following BBC host Kelly Cates' summary of the Balogun situation, Joe Hart responded: "It doesn't feel right does it?" Rooney then unleashed a furious outburst, declaring: "I think it's an absolute disgrace, I really do.

"I know it's UEFA but I got a three-game ban before Euro 2012. I was due to miss the three group games and I got told if I went over to Switzerland and did a training session with a bunch of kids, my third game would get taken off. I agreed to do it because I didn't want a three-game ban but I thought that was wrong.

"For this to be suspended, they either take the red card away which is probably the right decision and then he can play. But to suspend it for a year? I think it's an absolute disgrace. Infantino should be ashamed of this.

"The sportsmanship of this game is in question here. If I'm USA's opponent, I'd be absolutely fuming. It's wrong in every way. If you're an England player tonight or a Mexican player, and you get a red card, do you expect to be playing the next game? Where does it stop?"

[Folarin Balogun reacts to receiving a red card during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between USA and Bosnia and Herzegovina. ]

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Folarin Balogun will be available for USA's match vs Belgium.(Image: Maja Hitij - FIFA, FIFA via Getty Images)

Rooney's co-pundit Micah Richards subsequently added: "It's an absolute farce isn't it? It wasn't a red card. Balogun was trying to protect the ball and he went down, it happens, football is a contact sport. To have it suspend it for a year makes a mockery of the whole tournament.

"Like you said [Wayne], if that happens again tonight, they'll say 'you did it for one...' All this is to keep the big stars in the competition. America are one of the co-hosts. We all know what it is. FIFA need to do better."

BBC presenter Cates then played down Richards' remarks, saying: "We don't know what it is."

Before Rooney chipped in: "It might even affect him not missing a World Cup qualifier, so it's not going to affect anything to do with the World Cup. It's been brushed away so it's not going to have anything to do with the World Cup."

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Richards then added: "We've got to be honest about the situation. It's left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths. When the integrity comes into question for such a big tournament, for that to happen, it's just not good enough."

In their official statement, the Belgian FA said: "We are astonished by this decision. This decision is in direct contradiction to the provisions of the World Cup 2026 Competition Regulations.

"The automatic nature of such a suspension was also explicitly reaffirmed in World Cup 2026 Circular No. 16, which was distributed to all participating member associations on 12 May 2026. The same rule is reiterated at every Match Coordination Meeting prior to each match and all 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 World Cup and at future editions of the tournament, the Belgian FA is investigating all potential options."

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