Balogun's 1-game ban suspended by FIFA, allowing U.S. forward to play vs. Belgium in Round of 16

Folarin Balogun's one-game ban was surprisingly suspended by FIFA on Sunday, allowing the forward to play in the United States' World Cup Round of 16 game against Belgium on Monday.

Balogun, who leads the Americans with three goals, received a red card for stepping awkwardly on a foot of Tarik Muharemović of Bosnia and Herzegovina in a 2-0 Round of 32 win on Wednesday.

A red card calls for an automatic one-game suspension but players learned of Balogun's availability when social media posts started popping up during the 10-minute bus ride Sunday from their hotel to training at the University of Washington.

"I think a lot of us thought it was AI at first,"' defender Chris Richards said.

Balogun's red card and suspension for the Round of 16 match had been one of the most controversial and consequential decisions of the World Cup.

"If you look at the foul, it was just zero intent at all," U.S. star Christian Pulisic said. "I felt like there was much worse ones that went on this tournament."

Balogun scores U.S.'s go-ahead goal against Bosnia and then gets red card

The U.S. Soccer Federation learned of the decision in a message sent to its by FIFA in its portal at 10:31 a.m. EDT.

"The implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year," FIFA announced. "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."

U.S. President Donald Trump praised FIFA's decision. FIFA President Gianni Infantino has repeatedly made efforts to grow close to Trump, even awarding him a FIFA Peace Prize at the World Cup