Folarin Balogun was shown a straight red card against Bosnia-Herzegovina after a reckless foul on 23-year-old Tarik Muharemovic. Under soccer rules, the 25-year-old striker was set to miss his side’s next match against Belgium. But the story has now taken a twist as FIFA has overturned that punishment, with the automatic one-match ban instead suspended for a year. 

“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,” the FIFA statement read, as per Peter Rutzler. “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 ruling is based on Article 27 of the “FIFA Disciplinary Code,” which gives the judicial bodies the power to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary sanction on a player.

When such a suspension is applied to any player playing on the field, the player is usually placed under a 1-year probationary period. If the player commits a similar offense during that time period, the suspended punishment comes back into effect immediately.

In that case, the original sanction is enforced alongside any new punishment handed down for the fresh incident. So the initial suspension is not erased as it is simply put on hold.

The AS Monaco striker had been sent off after what initially looked like a fair collision against Muharemovic during USA’s Round of 32 match.

No foul was called on the field at first by the on-field referee. But after reviewing the footage on video, VAR recommended that the referee take another look because Balogun had stepped on the defender’s ankle.

Once the referee reviewed the incident again, the US soccer pro was shown a straight red card for violent conduct. The call stunned commentators, as well as the fellow players and coaching staff.

“For me? Never a red card,” the 54-year-old coach Mauricio Pochettino said after the match. “Never an intention to step on the player. It was a normal action in football that happened by accident.”

Even the 55-year-old Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, was also among those who publicly pushed for the decision to be reviewed. “They got screwed with that red card. There needs to be an appeal process for that. It’s probably too late for that.”

The soccer governing body has used Article 27 in a similar case before last year. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo was previously allowed to start his nation’s opening World Cup matches after a red card against the Republic of Ireland last year.

The Portuguese international had been sent off for an elbow to Dara O’Shea’s back during Portugal’s qualifying defeat last November. This kind of violent conduct on the field usually brings a 3-match ban; however, in Ronaldo’s case, the second and third matches were suspended for a year.

With Balogun now cleared to play against Belgium, the US Soccer body welcomed the outcome.

“We accept the decision of the disciplinary committee and are pleased that Folarin Balogun is eligible to compete tomorrow,” it said in a statement. “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.”

Now that Balogun is available again for tomorrow’s game, the USA will be counting on him in one of its biggest matches of the tournament.