Tuchel blasts FIFA over Balogun U-turn: ‘Where does this end?’

England head coach Thomas Tuchel has hit out at FIFA’s handling of disciplinary matters at the World Cup, questioning the process after the governing body’s surprise decision not to suspend USA striker Folarin Balogun.

Balogun was sent off during the USA’s group-stage match against Bosnia-Herzegovina and should, under normal circumstances, have been banned for the last-16 tie against Belgium, which kicks off at 01:00 BST on Tuesday. FIFA, however, chose not to enforce an immediate suspension, leaving the co-hosts’ leading scorer free to play.

The decision has drawn widespread criticism, and Tuchel was asked directly whether he might now push FIFA to look again at the red card shown to his own defender, Jarell Quansah, who was dismissed during England’s dramatic 3-2 win over Mexico. Speaking to the BBC’s football issues correspondent Dale Johnson, Tuchel made clear he had no idea how the process was supposed to work.

‘I don’t have an answer’

“Where does this start and where does this end now?” Tuchel said. “Can we overturn it or not overturn it? What’s going on? Where to draw the line is the question that I ask. I have no answer to that.”

He went further, raising concerns about the wider implications of FIFA’s approach to VAR-assisted red cards. “Do we appeal if a yellow card is not a yellow card? Do we think it is not a red card or who thinks it? Where does this start and where does this end? It’s my question. I don’t have an answer,” Tuchel added.

Both Balogun and Quansah were dismissed following reviews by the video assistant referee, yet the two cases have been treated very differently by FIFA. That inconsistency is at the heart of Tuchel’s frustration, with England now bracing for their World Cup quarter-final against Norway on Saturday without knowing precisely how such calls might be handled going forward.

Confusion clouds the knockout rounds

Quansah’s red card came in a pulsating last-16 encounter in which England overcame Mexico despite playing much of the match with ten men, a result many are already ranking among the country’s finest away performances at a major tournament. But the aftermath has been overshadowed by questions over FIFA’s disciplinary consistency, with pundits and rival coaches alike weighing in on the Balogun situation.

Tuchel’s comments add England’s voice to a growing chorus of unease about how red cards are being reviewed and, in some cases, effectively reversed during the tournament. With the quarter-finals now looming, clarity from FIFA on the process may be needed before further controversy threatens to overshadow the football itself.

Read more: Where does England’s stunning Mexico win rank among their greatest away results?