Belgium

United States goalkeeper Matt Freese makes a huge error in judgement when he gifts Belgium’s Hans Vanaken the ball, leaving him with an easy finish. Errors all around as Belgium take control of the last-16 tie.

REPORT: US 1-4 Belgium

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WASHINGTON — President Trump did not like what he saw. So, once again, he picked up the phone.

Trump said Monday that he called FIFA President Gianni Infantino after he disagreed with the World Cup referee who gave a red card to U.S. men’s soccer team star Folarin Balogun. The discipline, which Trump called “very unfair” and a “stain” on the World Cup, would have barred Balogun from playing in Monday’s elimination game against Belgium.

“I asked for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump told reporters during an event in the Oval Office. “I am good at this stuff. I didn’t think it was a foul. I thought it was two great athletes that crashed into each other and got entangled.”

Trump said he initially didn’t know “what the hell a red card was” or what it meant. “When I found out, I said, ‘You gotta be kidding!’” he said.

Trump’s involvement in soccer’s disciplinary process created an international uproar.

UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, said FIFA “crossed a red line” with the reversal. Belgium’s football association appealed the ruling, which FIFA denied during a hearing Monday. Belgian coach Rudi Garcia mocked the decision as an April Fools’ joke.

“This decision clearly raises many questions,” Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said in a statement Monday, according to the New York Times.

“If a phone call really is what explains this incomprehensible decision, it would amount to undermining the most basic rules of soccer and sports,” added Prévot, a former soccer referee.

Trump’s close relationship with Infantino also has drawn new scrutiny.

In December, Infantino presented Trump with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize, an award the governing body created after Trump was passed over for the Nobel Peace Prize. That decision is now the subject of an ethics complaint, backed by members of the European Parliament, who argue it compromised FIFA’s political neutrality.

Trump said he did not ask Infantino to reverse the call. But that was the outcome reached by FIFA’s disciplinary committee, which, in 64 years, has reversed a red-card penalty only once during a World Cup tournament.

The episode serves as a reminder of a pattern of behavior the president has exhibited when he doesn’t get his way, regardless of the rules of the game. For Trump, a deal-maker who has described the world as “a casino,” often pushes the boundaries of long-standing norms.

After FIFA reversed course, Trump called the decision “brilliant” and said Belgium can now “be really proud” if they were to beat the U.S. team on Monday night.

“The other way, if they beat us, we’ll say, or I’ll say it was rigged, just like the election was rigged in 2020, but I won’t get into that,” Trump said.

Steven Levitsky, a Harvard political scientist and co-author of “How Democracies Die,” said Trump’s action are “perfectly consistent with how Trump has behaved on the world stage.”

“He has no interest in or no respect for any kind of international rules or norms,” he said.

Levitsky said the events illustrate the Trump administration’s worldview, one that, he argues, revolves around the ethos that “if we’re strong enough, we can leverage our way to whatever the hell we want.”

As examples, he pointed to the administration’s military strikes on boats in the Caribbean and efforts to acquire Greenland, both of which have led to diplomatic tensions.

Trump also has a history of using phone calls to pressure officials to reach an outcome he wants.

In a 2019 call, he asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate his political rival, a moment that became the catalyst of his first impeachment. And after losing the 2020 election, he pressed Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes,” the margin he needed to flip the state, a move that ultimately led to a criminal indictment.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino presents President Trump with the FIFA Peace Prize in December.

(Evan Vucci / Associated Press)

Trump defended his call with Infantino to reporters and appeared to downplay how much it may have contributed to the red card penalty being reversed.

“I can’t tell [Infantino] what to do, and I don’t believe he made the decision,” Trump said. “I think it was a committee that made the decision, and they made the right decision, because No. 1, it wasn’t a foul, and you want to see a game with your best players.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who was in the Oval Office when Trump acknowledged the call with Infantino, made reference to the Peace Prize as he thanked Trump for “getting rid of the ridiculous red card” ahead of the knockout game.

“There was a reason the FIFA trophy sat here for as long as it did,” Cruz told Trump.

Infantino, for his part, issued a statement Monday insisting that the decision came from FIFA’s independent disciplinary committee and that he told Trump the case would be decided by the body. Bill White, the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, also defended Trump, saying he “would never interfere with the inner workings of FIFA.”

Norman Eisen, co-founder of Democracy Defenders Action, said Trump’s decision to get involved in soccer’s disciplinary process is a “classic example of achieving a right outcome through wrong means.” He added that he believes the Trump administration and FIFA showed to be “two of the most corrupt entities around.”

“Like many Americans who are following the World Cup and rooting our team on, I thought it was a bad call,” Eisen said. “But I would never have chosen to bring that about in this fashion.”

Levitsky argued that given the popularity of the World Cup, which hundreds of millions of people around the world are tuning into to watch, Trump is opening himself up for more scrutiny on the global scale.

“People across the world who don’t give a damn about politics are following the World Cup, and they’re seeing the United States behave this way, taking what it can take at the expense of others unfairly,” he said. “Of course it is going to hurt the U.S. image abroad.”

The Belgian football federation has vowed “to challenge” FIFA’s controversial reversal of a red card game suspension against Folarin Balogun, which allows the star USA player to take the field in the round of 16 World Cup match against Belgium.

The statement on Monday from the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) came hours before the match was set to begin, and as US President Donald Trump defended directly reaching out to FIFA’s President Gianni Infantino ahead of the controversial decision.

The federation charged that FIFA did not follow the proper protocol in allowing an appeal of its lifting of Balogun’s game suspension, the result of a red card shown during the round of 32 match against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The RBFA said, given FIFA’s conduct, the federation “has no alternative but to challenge [Balogun’s] eligibility for the upcoming match”. It was not immediately clear how such a challenge would proceed.

“Regardless of the sporting outcome of this match, the RBFA is deeply concerned by the course of events and will continue to fight in the coming hours, days and months in defence of the fundamental principles of ethics, fair competition, and the interests of football as a whole,” the federation said.

Trump says he asked Infantino to ‘review’ the decision

The decision to lift Balogun’s one-game suspension came shortly after Trump spoke directly to Infantino.

That has raised eyebrows and accusations of political meddling in the tournament, with critics noting it is exceedingly rare for FIFA to lift a game suspension during the World Cup, even when a referee makes a questionable call.

If Balogun is allowed to play, it would be the first time since 1962 that a red card issued at the World Cup did not result in a suspension.

FIFA has said it relied on Article 27 of its disciplinary committee rules to reverse the game ban. The provision states “the judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure”.

FIFA had earlier said the game ban could not be appealed by Team USA.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump denied that he directly influenced FIFA’s decision.

“All ⁠I did, I asked for a review, ⁠because I didn’t ⁠think it ⁠was a foul,” Trump told reporters.

“I thought it was two great athletes that crashed [into] each other and got entangled.”

He further called football referee Raphael Claus “very suspect”. He added, “If you want, I’ll provide you with the past”, without providing further details.

Later on Monday, Infantino also released his version of the call, which he said was among many he regularly receives from “heads of state, government officials, football stakeholders and business executives from around the world on many different issues”.

Infantino maintained he was not involved in the decision on Balogun’s suspension and was only made aware after it was released.

“During our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies,” he said.

‘Keep politics out’

To be sure, several leading football pundits have questioned the decision by Claus to show Balogun the red card.

Many have argued that Balogun incidentally stepped on the ankle of Bosnia and Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic during an otherwise legitimate challenge, and the contact did not warrant the potentially tournament-transforming penalty.

Nevertheless, the unusual series of events is likely to cast a further pall of politics over the games ahead, adding to criticism of the Trump administration’s treatment of Iran’s national team.

Observers have said the optics of Trump’s intervention could taint any future success of the USA team, which has far exceeded expectations under head coach Mauricio Pochettino.

“This is embarrassing to a wonderful US team and a wonderful player,” Shibley Telhami, a professor of peace and development at the University of Maryland, wrote on X following FIFA’s decision.

“Keep politics out. This US team is good enough to win honourably. Now, a win will be diminished.”

Belgium’s football federation (RBFA) says it is “astonished” by FIFA’s controversial decision to suspend the one-match red card ban on USA striker Folarin Balogun and is “investigating all potential options” to uphold integrity in the sport.

The World Cup was plunged into uproar on Sunday after FIFA suspended a red card given to Balogun ahead of the host nation’s clash with Belgium, in a bombshell move welcomed by US President Donald Trump but slammed by Belgian officials.

The extraordinary FIFA ruling means that Balogun is now free to play for the USA against Belgium on Monday in Seattle, with a place in the quarterfinals at stake.

The Royal Belgian Football Association said it is “investigating all potential options” to “safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport”.

“I didn’t know that at the FIFA World Cup, the 5th of July is now the 1st of April, and that it’s April Fool’s Day,” added Belgium coach Rudi Garcia at a news conference.

“A lot of our thoughts and opinions are in the release,” Garcia said.

“We’re not defending the national team or the federation, we are defending football.”

Balogun had been set to miss Monday’s last-16 knockout clash with the Belgians after receiving a straight red card following a video review for stepping on the foot of a Bosnian defender in a round-of-32 clash that the US won 2-0.

Under FIFA rules, a straight red card automatically triggers a one-game ban, which cannot be appealed by the player’s team.

But FIFA said on Sunday that the ban will now be suspended for a year, in a stunning move for which no specific explanation was offered.

It is the first instance of a red-carded player being allowed to play in his team’s subsequent match since the introduction of the yellow and red card rules at the 1970 edition of the World Cup.

‘We are not the bad men’

Top scorer Balogun has been key to the USA’s progress in the tournament, netting three times, and his absence against Belgium would have been a blow to the team in Seattle.

The stakes are huge for the cohosts, whose strong start to the tournament has raised expectations to fever-pitch levels among the American public, and they are targeting a run to at least the quarterfinals. The last time the USA reached the quarters was in 2002.

Balogun himself had said on Friday that the red card ban was “something I have to just accept”.

However, the 25-year-old celebrated FIFA’s U-turn with an Instagram post of himself in the US team jersey and Michael Jackson’s Bad attached as the audio.

USA players and officials welcomed the news, which they received on their way to training on Sunday morning.

“I think a lot of us thought it was AI at first,” defender Chris Richards said. “I think we were really excited because we found out through social media; it was cool. It was a lot of question marks, but just very, very happy and excited overall.”

“It feels right,” forward Christian Pulisic added. “Really excited for him to have this opportunity. To see the smile on his face and to be able to give us a boost tomorrow is great.”

Head coach Mauricio Pochettino said that “it’s a fair decision because it should have never been a red card”, calling the punishment “too big” for an unintentional foul.

“It’s not that we are victims, but we are not the bad men, the mean ones here,” he said.

FIFA decision ‘a bit of a surprise’

In its statement, FIFA pointed to “article 27 of the FIFA disciplinary code”, which allows the suspension to be “suspended for a probationary period of one year”.

Balogun would serve the ban only if he commits another similar foul in the next year, it said.

There is some precedent for the decision.

Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo earned a three-game ban for an elbow during qualifying last year, but had two matches of his ban suspended.

The move, which allowed Ronaldo to play in Portugal’s World Cup opener, drew criticism at the time.

Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said it was “a bit of a surprise” that Balogun was cleared to play just a day before the match.

“Had it been done earlier, we’d have been able to be mentally more prepared, perhaps,” he said.

FIFA’s decision has stirred up a social media storm, with mixed reactions to the suspension.

DR Congo footballer Yannick Bolasie expressed his dismay at the decision by saying the reaction to FIFA’s U-turn would have been quite different had it been taken in the Africa Cup of Nations.

SEATTLE — Folarin Balogun will be able to play for the U.S. in Monday’s World Cup elimination game with Belgium after FIFA rescinded the one-game suspension it handed down when Balogun drew a red card in the second half of the team’s round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina last week.

In a statement released Sunday morning, FIFA said “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. 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.”

Balogun leads the U.S. with three goals in as many games. He is the first American to score three times in a World Cup since 1930.

Balogun got the red card after colliding with Bosnia’s Tarik Muharemovic 16 minutes into the second half when the Bosnian defender planted his right leg below Balogun’s right foot, the American inadvertently stomped on his right ankle, twisting it awkwardly.

Both players went down and referee Raphael Claus did not signal a foul or pull a card. But after the video assistant referee urged him to watch a replay, Claus walked away from the monitor and flashed the red card.

After the game Balogun shook Claus’ hand on the pitch. And on Friday, in his first public comments, he spoke respectfully of the decision to give him a red card.

U.S. Soccer also released a statement Sunday.

“We accept the decision of the Disciplinary Committee and are pleased that Folarin Balogun is eligible to compete tomorrow,” the statement said. ”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.”

A U.S. Soccer spokesman said the team was informed of FIFA’s decision Sunday morning and Balogun was told the suspension had been lifted during a bus ride to training.

The price for the final 2026 World ⁠Cup match in Seattle hit nearly $4,000 but dipped as low as $1,549 ⁠on Tuesday.

Ticket prices for ‌the United States’ highly anticipated round of 16 game against ⁠Belgium on ⁠Monday plunged by more than 30 percent before rebounding slightly early Saturday evening.

The get-in price for the final 2026 World ⁠Cup match in Seattle hit nearly $4,000 on June 1, according to ticket-tracking service TicketData.com. After dipping to as low as $1,549 ⁠on Tuesday, the get-in price spiked to $2,836 after the USA solidified their spot in the round of 16 with a 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.

However, the get-in price has steadily declined in the ‌days since. It dropped to $1,423 on Saturday afternoon – a 32 percent decrease over the past three days – but the get-in price rebounded to $1,635 at 6pm Eastern Time (23:00 GMT).

That late boost pushed the USA-Belgium game from the fourth-highest get-in price to the second-highest price among the eight round of 16 matches. Mexico’s game against ⁠England in Mexico City on Sunday sits ⁠at $3,574.

ROUND OF 16 TICKET PRICES*:

• Mexico-England, 7/5 (Houston): $3,574
• USA-Belgium: 7/6 (Seattle): $1,635
• Argentina-Egypt: 7/7 (Atlanta): $1,599
• Brazil-Norway: 7/5 (New Jersey): $1,537
• Portugal-Spain: 7/6 (Dallas): $1,367
• Switzerland-Colombia: $959 (Vancouver): $972
• Paraguay-France: 7/4 (Philadelphia): $914
• Canada-Morocco: 7/4 (Houston): $721

*TicketData.com as of 6 p.m. ET on July 4.

The significant drop in the ⁠get-in price for the US-Belgium game is somewhat surprising considering the Red Devils’ base camp ⁠is located just 16 kilometres (10 miles) south of Seattle ⁠Stadium at the Sounders FC Performance Center. Monday will mark Belgium’s third match in Seattle following a 1-1 draw with Egypt in the group stage and a ‌dramatic 3-2 comeback victory over Senegal in the round of 32.

Canada was the first team eliminated from the round of 16 ‌with ‌their 3-0 loss to Morocco on Saturday. The get-in price for that match dropped 14 percent from $838 over the final 72 hours.

Like a good striker, Folarin Balogun never loses sight of the goal. And the goal for the U.S. team in this summer’s World Cup hasn’t been just to win, which they’ve done, but to inspire.

And that’s how Balogun found himself on the field, shaking hands with Brazilian referee Raphael Claus, about 45 minutes after Claus gave him a controversial red card in Wednesday’s win over Bosnia-Herzegovina, a red card that will keep him out of Monday’s round-of-16 game with Belgium.

“Little kids are watching, and we have to show them the correct way to handle things, even when you think it’s unjust,” Balogun said Friday.

“It’s not an excuse to be disrespectful, to not do the right thing. I’m aware that the World Cup might be the first time a lot of American viewers are tuning in. So it’s important, whether things happen to you good or bad, just to continue to be yourself.”

That doesn’t mean Balogun didn’t think the red card was unjust. He does. And he definitely thinks something bad happened to him and his team since Balogun, the Americans’ leading scorer with three goals in as many games, will have to sit out the team’s most important game in a generation.

It’s just means that Balogun, who celebrated his 25th birthday Friday, is also mature enough to understand a game — even a World Cup elimination game — is just a game.

“It’s been a roller coaster,” he said before the team’s training session at the University of Washington. “There’s been lots of different emotions. I’ve been upset, I’ve been happy. But for me, it was just important to stay calm. I never want to react out of anger and out of emotion.”

Balogun, who had given his team a 1-0 lead in the waning seconds of the first half, collided with Tarik Muharemovic 16 minutes into the second half, and when the Bosnian defender planted his right leg below Balogun’s right foot, the American inadvertently stomped on his right ankle, twisting it awkwardly.

U.S. forward Folarin Balogun steps on Bosnia-Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic’s foot and received a red card.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Both players went down and Claus did not signal a foul or pull card. But after the video assistant referee urged him to watch a replay, Claus walked away from the monitor and flashed the red card. That left the U.S. to finish Wednesday’s game with just 10 men and disqualified Balogun for Monday’s game. U.S. Soccer said Friday FIFA’s disciplinary committee did not add any games to Balogun’s suspension.

“There’s the scenarios that you simply can’t avoid,” he said, “and it has to be taken into context when it’s being reviewed. I felt it wasn’t on this occasion. There’s nowhere else to put your leg. It’s going to be unavoidable.

“I think a yellow card would have been fair. [But] it’s something that’s happened, so we have to move forward, and I have to accept it. The most important thing is just to focus on the bigger picture, which is Belgium.”

Replacing Balogun won’t be easy since he’s emerged as one of the team’s most effective and creative players, either scoring of setting up the go-ahead goal in all three of the U.S. wins.

“We’ve got guys that can fill in and have to be ready for the opportunity to step up,” midfielder Tyler Adams said. “When you miss a player like Balo, obviously things change a little bit. But we’ve been flexible. Guys have shown that they’re ready to play.”

The most likely replacements are Ricardo Pepi and Haji Wright. Pepi, who scored 16 goals for PSV in the Dutch Eredivisie this season, played 90 minutes in place of Balogun in the U.S. loss to Turkey in the final group-stage match. Wright, who had 17 goals for Coventry City in the English Championship, played in all four U.S. games in the 2022 World Cup, scoring once, but he has made just one appearance in this summer’s tournament.

“Balo is an important part of our team, and it’s a disappointing way for him to miss the next game,” said Wright, who grew up in Culver City and spent three years in the Galaxy academy. “But, I’ll always be ready and prepared for whatever comes.”

A victory over Belgium would send the U.S. to the quarterfinals of a World Cup for just the second time. It would also give it four wins in the tournament, double the number of victories in any previous World Cup and marking the first time the Americans have won twice in the knockout stages in the same tournament.

U.S. forward Ricardo Pepi pursues the ball during a World Cup match against Bosnia-Herzegovina at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara , Calif., on Wednesday.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

It’s a moment, Adams acknowledged Friday, many players have waited for their whole lives.

“You need to embrace the moment, that’s for sure,” he said. “To have the opportunity to play in a round-of-16 game — which, obviously, last World Cup we did, but it was the first knockout game, not the second — it’s exciting. It was nice to get a little bit of a taste of what it feels like to play with something a little bit more on the line in the last game. I think that’s good preparation.

“Advancing and taking this thing as far as we can is the most important thing. We have a good opportunity here to do so.”

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Mauricio Pochettino’s team continues to do things in this summer’s World Cup that no U.S. team has ever done before.

Its three wins are the most in a single tournament. So are the 10 goals in four games. It has the best goal differential ever and its two shutouts ties a record.

Yet all that means absolutely nothing to the players.

“They’re great milestones,” captain Tim Ream said. “But I don’t think anybody’s even once mentioned the different things that we’re doing. We’re focused on what we’re doing daily on the training ground, because that puts us in the best possible position to to put these performances.

“So yeah, not aware or even worried about records that we’re breaking.”

Well, except for maybe one.

With Wednesday’s gritty 2-0 over Bosnia and Herzegovina, a game the U.S. finished with just 10 men, the Americans won a game in the World Cup knockout stage for just the second time. That sends them on to a round-of-16 meeting with Belgium on Monday in Seattle where a win would be — you guessed it — historic.

“It’s cool and it’s great and it’s an accomplishment,” midfielder Weston McKennie said of the records. “But at the same time, we have high expectations for ourselves. That’s what we expect of ourselves, what we expect of our team.

“We just want to focus on Belgium now and continue to try to make history.”

That chore got a good deal more difficult because of an unwanted team record that was also set Wednesday. When Folarin Balogun scored a goal late in the first half then drew a red card early in the second, he became the first American — and third player ever — to get one of each in the same World Cup knockout game.

“Cool record,” defender Chris Richards said.

But while the goal, Balogun’s third of the tournament, proved to be all the U.S. needed to beat Bosnia, the red card — which cannot be appealed according to U.S. Soccer — means he’s suspended for the game with Belgium.

“It’s just so unfortunate, honestly,” Christian Pulisic said. “Looking back at it, it seems so harsh. I just told him he’s done so much for us, and now we’ve got his back.”

The red card came in the 64^th minute with the U.S. protecting a 1-0 lead built on Balogun’s goal just before the intermission. The American striker was battling hulking Bosnia defender Tarik Muharemovic for a loose ball when he inadvertently raked Muharemovic’s right calf with his studs up, then landed on his ankle, twisting it awkwardly.

Brazilian referee Raphael Claus did not flash either card before stopping play at the behest of the video assistant referee. But after consulting a slow-motion reply, Claus gave Balogun a red card for a dangerous challenge.

“For me, never is this a red card,” said Pochettino, now the winningest U.S. coach in World Cup history. “Watching after on TV, never was [it his] intention to step up on the player. That was a normal action in football.”

Maybe. But Claus sent Balogun off just the same, leaving the U.S. to protect a one-goal advantage for the final 30 minutes while playing a man down. It was probably the sternest test the Americans have faced in the tournament.

“It would be easy to have an excuse if they did score,” McKennie said. “But that’s not the type of team we are.”

For Ream, the challenge was actually no challenge at all.

“Would it be weird if I downplayed this and said [I] wasn’t even fazed by it?” he said. “It didn’t feel like we were down a man. We were still able to carve out chances and we were still able to keep hold of the ball. Everybody knew their roles.

“It felt really calm and felt really, really easy and simple for us in that moment.”

And that allowed another hero to shrug off the pain of his own wounds and step up big.

Early in the second half a Bosnian player stomped on Malik Tillman, shredding his boot and cutting his right foot (but not drawing a red card). During the hydration break, Tillman was able to change shoes and in the 82^nd minute, his white sock turning red with blood, he found himself standing over a free kick just outside the Bosnian penalty area.

“I’ve been dreaming about this game. I’ve been dreaming about, yeah, maybe taking a free kick and scoring,” said Tillman, who bent the ball off the gloved right hand of Bosnian keeper Nikola Vasilj and into the net for his first World Cup goal. “I trained for this in our practices and then it actually came true.”

So did the team’s dreams of reaching the round of 16, only now they’re arriving without their leading scorer, who will have to watch the Belgium game from the stands. Balogun’s absence, however, creates opportunity for others, with Haji Wright and Ricardo Pepi the most likely candidates to take his place.

And if this U.S. team has proven anything, it’s proven that it loves nothing more than embracing opportunities to prove people wrong.

“We’re going to miss him for the next game but we know that if it’s Pepi or Haji, whoever, is going to step up next and they’re going to do the job just as well as he did,” Richards said of Balogun. “One thing about this team is we’re really a big family and we’re shown it this whole tournament.

“Coming in, there was a lot of question marks about our whole team in general. Game by game we started to put ourselves right. Because we knew we had it the whole time.”

The penalty awarded against the Senegalese national team in the final moments of their match against Belgium on Wednesday caused widespread controversy after it led to their elimination from the Round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup, in a harsh turn of events that saw the “Lions of Teranga” go from leading 2-0 to losing 3-2.

Honduran referee Said Martinez awarded a penalty kick at the end of the second period of extra time, after a VAR review, following a challenge by Senegal’s Lamine Camara on Belgian captain Youri Tielemans, with the score tied 2-2 and the match heading towards a penalty shootout.

The “Archivo VAR” platform, which specialises in analysing refereeing decisions, said that VAR intervened excessively during the match, confirming that it was Tielemans who extended his foot in front of Camara, causing the contact.

The platform added, via its account on “X,” that the incident did not warrant VAR intervention, explaining that it was the Belgian player who forced the contact entirely, and that the situation did not amount to the clear and obvious error needed to justify the referee reviewing the decision.

The decision triggered a wave of controversy on social media, with one fan writing: “This is 100% robbery. Senegal have been robbed. How is this a penalty? Belgium do not deserve to go through corruption.”

Sports content creator Sneako blamed the result on match ‘”rigging”.

“Rigged! Senegal should storm the pitch right now. Leave the pitch and go home. This is rigged!”

Another sports fan wrote: “I’m sorry, but this was never a penalty. Camara went to clear the ball, but it was Tielemans who got in his way. Senegal was robbed, and it should have been Belgium going out.”

Spanish sports journalist Manolo Lama commented: “They stole the Africa Cup of Nations from them, and now they’re stealing all the solidarity with Senegal at the World Cup too.”

Egyptian journalist Mohamed Saeed linked the incident to what happened in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final against Morocco, writing: “You can feel that the penalty awarded against Senegal in the final seconds was a harsh lesson and a difficult test. After the scenes from the Africa Cup of Nations final, I think that if it weren’t for the change in the rules around the withdrawal incident, this scene could have repeated itself.”

Another sports fan, Fares Ahmed, wrote that football ”teaches lessons” and the outcome brought back the memory of Senegal at the tournament in Morocco.

“They took advantage of the tournament’s vulnerable position and the host’s need to make it a success, and used that to impose their pressure,” Ahmed wrote. “Today, the scene was almost repeated against Belgium — a penalty in the final minutes, objections, and disbelief over the decision — but this time there was no threat of withdrawal, because you can’t risk penalties like that in a tournament the size of the World Cup.”

Drawing a connection between the two events, one follower wrote on “X”: “When there was a clear penalty in the Morocco final, they rebelled against the decision and tarnished the reputation of African football, just because the tournament was in Morocco. But when an unclear penalty came along that eliminated them from the World Cup, they stayed silent, because this time it was in the West.”

After the dramatic penalty was awarded, Tielemans stepped up to take it and scored successfully, netting Belgium’s third goal and capping off an unexpected comeback that eliminated the Lions of Teranga.

But back on the pitch, Senegal had the run of play for 85 minutes. The African team held a two-goal lead, and had all but secured a spot in the round of 16 at the World Cup.

Within five minutes, it crumbled and the players were feeling it.

“We were at the heart of writing the beautiful pages of the history of our football in this world,” defender Krepin Diatta said. “And we have to accept that we failed at our mission.”

Senegal midfielder Habib Diarra said. “We had a good first half, but it wasn’t enough. A match lasts 90 minutes, and we’re devastated. It’s very tough. I don’t know what to say. When you’re on the pitch, you have to give your all, and that’s not what we did. We’ve only got ourselves to blame.”

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Folarin Balogun was still learning to walk the last time the U.S. won a knockout round game in a World Cup. On Wednesday, he helped lead the Americans to another with his goal in the waning seconds of the first half, sparking a 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina that sends the team on to the round of 16 of this summer’s tournament.

The other goal came from Malik Tillman in the 82nd minute. The Americans have scored multiple goals in every game of the tournament for the first time ever, also setting a national record with 10 goals overall in the tournament.

The U.S. will face Belgium in the next round Monday in Seattle. Belgium advanced with a 3-2 win over Senegal in extra time.

Balogun wasn’t around to see the finish though, drawing a straight red card for stomping on the right ankle of Bosnian center back Tarik Muharemovic in the 61st minute, a foul Brazilian referee Raphael Claus confirmed via a video review. That forced the Americans to see Wednesday’s game out with just 10 players.

“For me, never is this red card,” U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said. “Watching after on TV, never was [it] intention[al] to step up on the player. That was a normal action in football that happened by accident.

“That is why for me it’s never a red card.”

Claus disagreed, which could prove costly against Belgium because the card comes with a one-game suspension the U.S. cannot appeal.

“It’s just so unfortunate, honestly,” teammate Christian Pulisic said. “Looking back at it, it just seems, it seems so harsh. I just told him he’s done so much for us, and now we got his back. So that’s it.”

Balogun put the U.S. in front to stay just before the intermission. The sequence started with Bosnian defender Stjepan Radeljic sliding in front of a Tillman pass, deflecting it forward toward Muharemovic. But Muharemovic got his feet crossed, allowing the ball to carom to Balogun who did the rest, sweeping the ball into the net with his left boot from about 15 feet.

The goal was Balogun’s third of the tournament, tying him with Landon Donovan (2010) for most by an American in a single World Cup since 1930. The lead was the Americans’ first at halftime in a World Cup knockout game since 2002, when they beat Mexico in the round of 16.

Folarin Balogun and Bosnia-Herzegovina defender Amar Dedic in action during the first half.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

It looked to be a precarious lead when Muharemovic crumpled to the ground with about 30 minutes in regulation time. Claus did not show a card but after the VAR official suggested he take a look at a slow-motion replay, he came away from the monitor and reached for the red, making Balogun the first American to get a red card and score a goal in the same World Cup game.

“I think it’s a yellow card,” midfielder Tyler Adams said. “I think when you slow everything down, it’s only going to look worse.”

A few minutes after Balogun left, the game paused for the second-half hydration break, which proved to be a lucky break for the U.S. Tillman had his right foot stomped on early in the half, ripping his boot and leaving his foot bloodied. The break came him a chance to change shoes.

In the 82^nd minute, he swung that new right shoe at a free kick from the top of the box, bending it off the gloved right hand of Bosnian keeper Nikola Vasilj and in the net. That brought another first, according to OptaJack, which said Tillman was the first U.S. player to score on a direct free kick in a competitive match since Jozy Altidore in 2017 Gold Cup final.

“I’ve been dreaming about this game. I’ve been dreaming about maybe taking a free kick and scoring a free kick,” said Tillman, who practices set pieces endlessly after training sessions. “And then it actually came true.”

Until Wednesday, the U.S. hadn’t beaten a European team in 13 tries, a slump that included draws with Wales and England in the 2022 World Cup and six losses in as many games under Pochettino.

The last UEFA country it did beat? Bosnia and Herzegovina, in December 2021.

“Details decided the game,” Vasilj said.

After the red card “we started controlling the game,” he continued “and they canceled that with the second goal. We had our moments and you could feel something was coming. The only thing missing was the goal.”

Staff writer Mirjam Swanson contributed to this report.

Belgium fans celebrate a dramatic 3-2 victory over Senegal in extra time after the Red Devils fought back from two goals down. Supporters describe the match as an emotional rollercoaster from despair to elation.

Tielemans’s penalty late into stoppage time of extra time capped Belgium’s comeback from 2-0 down in Seattle.

Youri Tielemans struck a 125th-minute penalty as Belgium rallied from two goals down and defeated Senegal 3-2 after extra time in their World Cup last ⁠-32 clash in Seattle to keep alive their title hopes, which had looked dead and buried.

Senegal’s Lamine Camara slid in on Tielemans as the ball flashed across the face of goal and conceded the spot kick after a ⁠⁠video assistant referee review, with the Belgian picking out the top corner to complete an extraordinary comeback on Wednesday.

Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr had given Senegal a deserved 2-0 lead, and they looked to be cruising through to the next round before Belgium netted twice in the final four minutes through Romelu Lukaku and Tielemans to force extra time.

Belgium now face the winner of ‌‌Wednesday’s last-32 clash between cohosts United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the next round in Seattle on Monday.

It was cruel on Senegal, who controlled much of the 90 minutes, and struck the woodwork twice, but could not see out the game.

They became the fourth African side to bow out in a narrow defeat in the last 32 after South Africa, Ivory Coast, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and will wonder how they managed to let this one slip.

Senegal were inches away from the lead when Ismail Jakobs’s cross from the ⁠⁠left was parried by Thibaut Courtois, but a stretching Sarr could only steer the ⁠⁠loose ball onto the post.

When the African side did break the deadlock in the 25th minute, it was no surprise. Sadio Mane’s cross was headed goal-wards by Sarr, but his effort came off the post again.

This time, the loose ball fell kindly for Diarra, and he side-footed home ⁠⁠from 7 yards.

Maxim De Cuyper forced an excellent save from Senegal goalkeeper Mory Diaw with a shot that looked to be heading into the top corner as Belgium trailed ⁠⁠at the break.

Belgium brought on Lukaku for the ineffective ⁠⁠Charles De Ketelaere at half-time, but were soon 2-0 down.

A stunning long pass from Moussa Niakhate was brilliantly controlled on the chest by Sarr, who held off two defenders before thundering the ball into the net in the 51st minute.

Belgium struggled to create clear-cut chances until the final five minutes, ‌‌and almost out of nowhere turned the game on its head by netting twice in three minutes.

First, Lukaku turned the ball in at the near post from Thomas Meunier’s low cross, and Leandro Trossard’s ball into the box from ‌‌deep ‌‌was headed into the net by Tielemans.

Those two had been involved in a heated exchange earlier in the match, but it was all smiles and hugs when the equaliser went in, before Tielemans was central again in the winner.

A double strike from Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard against New Zealand carried Belgium to top of Group G, ahead of Egypt on goal difference.

Belgium defeated New Zealand 5-1 to book their place in the knockout rounds of the 2026 World Cup on Friday, eliminating the All Whites from the tournament. The result secured the European nation’s first win of the World Cup, as they finished on top of Group G in Vancouver.

A double strike from Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard and goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Saelemaekers carried Belgium into the last 32 in first place ahead of Egypt on goal difference.

Egypt claimed the runners-up spot after a 1-1 draw with Iran in Seattle. The Iranians finished third in the group and face an anxious wait to know about their knockout fate.

Belgium dominated a lopsided first half and had alarm bells ringing in the New Zealand defence early on when Trossard’s angled shot cannoned off the inside of the upright only to be cleared off the line by Tyler Bindon.

Belgium looked poised to take the lead moments later when Jordanian referee Adham Makhadmeh pointed to the penalty spot after Trossard’s shot hit the arm of covering defender Finn Surman.

But VAR sent Makhadmeh to the monitor to take another look at the decision, which was subsequently overturned and New Zealand breathed again.

Yet Belgium did not have long to wait before the breakthrough and again it was Trossard who proved to be in the right place at the right time, bundling home from close range after De Bruyne’s corner sowed panic in the six-yard box.

Trossard effectively made the game safe five minutes into the second half, controlling a rebound in a crowded area to volley home past New Zealand goalkeeper Max Crocombe at the near post.

De Bruyne then stroked home an elegant low finish in the 66th minute to make it 3-0, a crucial goal which saw the Belgians leapfrog over Egypt into first place on goal difference.

Yet there was to be a dramatic end when New Zealand’s Elijah Just volleyed home a consolation strike from the edge of the area to make it 3-1.

That could have been potentially costly, with the goal suddenly bumping Belgium down into second place.

But Lukaku nodded home his team’s fourth in the 86th minute with his first touch just a minute after coming on as a substitute to return Belgium to the top of the table.

Saelemaekers completed the scoring with a shot from the edge of the area.

Belgium has issued five visas to a Taliban delegation to attend a European Union meeting on migration in Brussels and discuss the deportation of Afghan asylum seekers from European nations.

The meeting, expected to take place on Tuesday, will be the first time the EU has hosted the group since it returned to power in Afghanistan almost five years ago.

A spokesperson from the Belgian Foreign Ministry told reporters that the five visas were granted on Monday after a security assessment and that they are valid for Belgium for one day only.

The European Commission said it has invited the Taliban officials for discussions on irregular migration from Afghanistan to the 27-member bloc, and to also discuss the deportation of Afghan people in the EU who have had their asylum applications rejected.

The EU has not identified which Taliban representatives were invited to the meeting. Several senior Taliban leaders are also under EU sanctions.

“Member States are looking into ways to return persons who have committed serious crimes and who are possibly a security threat. So this is the initiative that the Commission is now following up on,” Commission spokesman Markus Lammert told the EU’s daily news briefing on Monday.

According to a letter seen by the Reuters news agency and addressed to Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a Taliban Foreign Ministry spokesman, the meeting will focus on “the return and readmission of Afghan nationals without a right to stay in the European Union”.

The Commission, however, emphasised that this meeting does not mean Brussels is formally recognising the Taliban.

Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban have steadily curtailed rights, restricting women’s freedom of movement, banning girls from education beyond primary school, and enforcing morality laws that limit free expression and access to employment. European governments also shut their embassies in Kabul when the Taliban authorities returned to power.

Rights organisations have asked the Commission to abandon its plans to talk with the Taliban.

“Any engagement with the Taliban needs to prioritise protecting human rights and accountability – not deporting people to danger there,” Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch, said.

Earlier this month, the EU’s migration chief Magnus Brunner defended the outreach, saying Brussels had no other option than to talk to the Taliban government about returning Afghan asylum seekers who had entered the 27-member bloc irregularly.

European governments have sought a tougher stance on migration as public opinion has hardened, spurring far-right electoral gains across the continent.

EU countries have received about a million asylum applications filed by Afghans between 2013 and 2024, according to the bloc’s migration agency.

Although Afghans are among the nationalities with the highest asylum recognition rates in the EU, overall acceptance has tightened as migration ⁠policies become more restrictive.

About 20 of the EU’s 27 member states expressed interest in returning numbers of migrants without a right to stay, particularly those with criminal convictions, to Afghanistan in a letter last year.

EU law allows for deportations of people convicted of serious crimes or ⁠deemed security threats in certain cases, but returns to Afghanistan have been limited due to the lack of diplomatic relations.

“The focus for member states is very much on persons who have committed serious crimes or who pose a security threat,” Commission spokesman Lammert told journalists Monday.

Afghanistan is, however, currently mired in a deep humanitarian crisis. According to the United Nations World Food Programme, more than 17 million Afghans – or one-third of the population – are “food insecure”, while the country is absorbing tens of thousands of people returning from Iran and Pakistan.

“The desperate scenes of people – including EU staff – fleeing Afghanistan are a recent memory,” Eve Geddie, director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office, said in a statement.

“It is unconscionable that the EU would now try and deport people to Afghanistan, which has only become more dangerous in the meantime,” she added.

Iranian fans in Tehran watched their team secure a 0-0 draw against Belgium at the World Cup in Los Angeles, keeping hope alive for an unprecedented chance at the second round. Iran competes under strict US travel restrictions, which forced them to fly back to Mexico within hours of the draw, rather than remaining overnight for recovery.

Iran’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad World Cup got a lot better Sunday.

By playing Belgium to a scoreless draw before another packed house at SoFi Stadium, Iran is in position to win its group with a victory over Egypt on Friday and advance to the knockout stage for the first time.

That would be a just reward for a team that is unbeaten two games into what has been a trying tournament off the field.

Before it even left Iran, the team was forced to move its training camp from Tucson to Tijuana, and more than a dozen members of its delegation were told they would be barred from entering the U.S. The players had their movements in the U.S. severely limited, heard their national anthem jeered twice and generally have been unwelcome as the first qualifiers to play a World Cup game in a country with which they are at war.

And if all that wasn’t bad enough, on Sunday, Iran had a brilliant first-half goal, one that seemingly had given it its first lead of the tournament, erased on a video replay that confirmed the narrowest of offside violations.

The disallowed goal, one of the best any team has scored in this World Cup, came on a set piece in the 25th minute. Iranian captain Ehsan Hajsafi took the free kick from about 35 yards, but instead of going to the goal, he pushed the ball through the Belgium wall to Mehdi Taremi, who took a clean first touch, then put a left-footed ball between Belgian keeper Thibaut Courtois and the left post.

Iranian soccer fans hold a pre-revolutionary Iranian flag following the team’s scoreless draw with Belgium in the World Cup at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The play caught Belgium completely by surprise, and for one of the few times in this tournament, Iran had reason to cheer. But the celebration was short-lived when referee Dario Herrera took the goal away after a lengthy video review determined Taremi to be offside.

That was the best thing that went right for Belgium in a first half it dominated, only to come up empty. It had an 11-2 edge in shots, completed six times as many passes and controlled the ball for more than 36 of the first 45 minutes. But it couldn’t get the ball past Iranian keeper Alireza Beiranvand.

If the World Cup has been trying for Iran, it’s been frustrating for Belgium, which needed an own goal from Egypt’s Mohamed Hany to escape with a draw in its opener. And a smothering Iranian defense that frequently packed seven players in the box added to that frustration Sunday.

Belgium forward Romelu Lukaku, left, and Iran defender Shojae Khalilzadeh battle for the ball in the second half of a World Cup match at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

That allowed Iran to get the first dangerous chance of the second half — and it also came off a set piece — with Taremi banging a clean volley on target from the center of the box. But Courtois stood his ground and made the save.

The game took a turn in the 62nd minute when Belgium’s Nathan Ngoy mishit a weak backpass, sending Taremi on a breakaway with only Courtois to beat. When Ngoy reached out and grabbed the Iranian by the shirt, pulling him to the ground, he drew a red card, leaving Belgium to play the final half-hour down a man.

Iran clearly deserved a better fate after absorbing wave after wave of a withering Belgium attack without breaking. It also was quicker and far more creative on offense, though it had nothing to show for that.

For Belgium, still looking for its first goal of the tournament, the result was another strain on an aging golden generation of players. If they don’t beat New Zealand in their final group-stage game Friday, they’ll leave the World Cup after the first round for a second straight time.

Nathan Ngoy sent off for hauling down Mehdi Taremi, whose first-half strike was called offside, in a close Group G match.

Belgium were held to a scoreless draw by Iran in a frustrating encounter that saw the Red Devils reduced to 10 men and facing the possibility of group-stage elimination for a second consecutive World Cup.

A star-studded, though ageing, lineup, including Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, was fortunate to leave Los Angeles with a point on Sunday.

Belgium controlled possession yet ceded the game’s best chances to a resolute Iranian defence.

Iran’s Mehdi Taremi had the ball in the net from a well-worked first-half free kick that was overturned for offside by VAR, while Nathan Ngoy was sent off after the break for hauling down the striker following a badly mishit back-pass.

The result means all three games in Group G so far have ended in draws. Stuck on two points, Belgium at least have the comfort of playing the tournament’s lowest-ranked team, New Zealand, in their final group game.

Iran will also need at least a point against Egypt next Friday. Having been frustrated by visa issues while travelling from their base camp in Mexico to play games in the United States, Team Melli will hope to focus on the football as travel restrictions are reportedly easing for their crucial trip to Seattle.

For the second Iran game running, protesters from Los Angeles’s large Iranian-American community gathered at the stadium to chant against the country’s current regime.

Inside the stadium, Iran’s anthem again drew a chorus of boos and whistles, a reception at odds with the response to the players themselves, who were loudly cheered throughout the game.

Having switched to a back five, Iran sat deep in the first half, allowing Belgium to dominate possession and play hundreds of passes around their penalty area without creating any clear-cut opportunities.

Target man Lukaku, back in the starting lineup after making an impact from the bench in Belgium’s 1-1 draw with Egypt, managed a solitary headed effort in the 36th minute, which sailed over the bar.

Iran had the first half’s two best chances, entirely against the run of play. Hossein Kanani’s low shot after a long throw was well saved by an outstretched Thibaut Courtois.

And Iran’s star striker Taremi had the ball in the net midway through the half after a cleverly worked free kick, but it was ruled offside.

The former Inter Milan man spun away from Belgium’s wall, swivelled and buried the ball, before VAR overruled the effort, to the dismay of a vocally pro-Iran crowd.

After the break, Belgium continued to huff and puff, while Taremi again nearly scored at the other end. Courtois did well to save after Kanani had flicked on a long throw to the Iran forward.

Belgium coach Rudi Garcia made a triple substitution around the hour mark, and his side immediately came close – Maxim De Cuyper’s point-blank effort from De Bruyne’s cut-back was well saved.

Substitute Hans Vanaken blasted a shot from a rebound well over the bar moments later, as the Red Devils finally began to knock on Iran’s door in earnest.

But disaster struck for Belgium as Ngoy was sent off. The centre-back had badly under-hit a pass back to Courtois and raised his arm into Taremi as the striker raced through on goal.

The game settled into a nervous, scrappy stalemate, though De Cuyper again came close with a low effort from just outside the box.

The United States will not ease the travel restrictions on the Iranian team for their World Cup matches in Los Angeles and Seattle despite the ⁠team saying they would lodge a complaint with FIFA, the cohost nation’s top tournament official has confirmed.

The US will continue to assess the Iran squad’s travel arrangements, but for now the original plan remains in place, Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force for the tournament, told the Reuters news agency on Saturday.

Iran are unhappy at restrictions that mean they can only travel to venues within 24 hours of their ⁠fixtures and must depart back to their training base in Tijuana, Mexico, directly after each game, with coach Amir Ghalenoei suggesting his side were “the most oppressed team in the whole World Cup”.

The Iranian delegation left the US hours after the full-time whistle at their first World Cup match against New Zealand last week.

The Group G match ended at about 8pm local time (03:00 GMT), and Iran returned to their base camp in Mexico within a few hours, prompting criticism of the US handling of their visas as the team did not get a day to recover at their hotel.

Ghalenoei said the team had expected to spend the night in California to maximise the normal recovery process after their opening game.

The US faced further pushback as Iran winger Mehdi Torabi’s entry visa expired after the first game. Team officials confirmed Tuesday afternoon that they had secured him a new, multiple-entry visa allowing him to travel into the US for future matches.

“This issue has been resolved,” the US Department of State said.

The same travel protocol will be in place for Iran’s fixture against Belgium on Sunday.

The Iranian team was due to arrive in Los Angeles on Saturday evening, about 24 hours before kickoff time for their match.

‘Situation is dynamic’

Giuliani, however, says the situation is fluid and they will discuss what measures will be in place for Iran’s third game against Egypt in Seattle on Friday.

“The ‌situation is dynamic,” Giuliani said in Houston. “We have a plan right now. Tomorrow afternoon [after the match against Belgium], they will take the 27-minute flight back to Tijuana.

“We will see how it goes for match two, and then there will be discussions the day after in terms of what it looks like for match three in Seattle.”

Giuliani defended the measures in place and said the pre-tournament change in training bases for the side from Tucson to Tijuana had shortened Iran’s travel time.

“The shift from Tucson to Tijuana, I think, was good for everybody involved. Certainly it reduces their travel time to Los ⁠Angeles too,” he said.

“Their flight is an hour shorter than it would be from Tucson. And we’re ⁠happy with the way that things went for match one in Los Angeles.

“I would just point to the fact that all players have received visas. All the coaches have received visas. There are some team officials that have not received visas, and that’s because we’ve seen some derogatory information on them, and this ⁠is the balance that we talk about.”

Giuliani said the goal has always been to protect the interests of the US and the international visitors at the World Cup.

“We want ⁠to make sure we have this incredible soccer tournament, where people are welcome ⁠and enjoy the World Cup, while also making sure that we are not just protecting American citizens, but we’re also protecting all those international visitors that are coming here,” he said.

He revealed that no threats to the tournament had been identified, but that officials remain vigilant.

“What I can tell you is our intelligence community has ‌tripled down on this since the beginning of this year,” he said. “We’re in discussions every hour on it. But there have been no credible threats at this moment.”

Giuliani has been pleased with the opening 10 days of the World Cup.

“Things are going as planned,” ‌he ‌said. “It’s been fantastic to see the great play on the pitch, that seems to be the majority of the conversation, which has been fantastic.”

This method of transport is a cheap and easy way to get around the city, but it has caused hundreds of accidents in the past year. Now there are calls for a ban across the European Union

A European city has banned a mode of transport that’s popular with tourists on day trips, after a huge number of accidents were reported in the past year alone.

Brussels will rid its streets of shared e-scooters as of January 2027, with authorities in the Brussels-Capital Region announcing the move last week. Currently, the Belgian capital has two remaining scooter operators offering shared e-scooters, Bolt and Dott, and once their licences expire at the end of 2026, they will not be renewed, according to the Brussels Times.

Authorities voiced their safety concerns around the use of e-scooters and the nuisance they can cause to local residents. The move means Brussels follows other European cities who’ve removed shared e-scooters, including Paris, Madrid, and Prague.

Brussels mobility minister Elke Van den Brandt and minister-president Boris Dilliès made a shared statement about the ban, calling shared e-scooters a “growing nuisance to other road users”, and pointing out that 666 accidents involved e-scooters in 2025, a year on year increase of 26%.

They also highlighted that rental scooters were often used for criminal purposes, and were involved in the cases of 25 shootings in Brussels last year.

Boris Dilliès said: “The decision to exclude self-service scooters from the Brussels urban landscape is part of a clear and consistent policy. Often synonymous with disorder, self-service scooters are a source of nuisance, cause serious injuries, clutter the streets and are, unfortunately, increasingly being used by organised criminals. Self-service bicycles, on the other hand, remain for us an essential part of a mobility policy.”

However, in a statement, e-scooter rental firm Bolt argued: “When scooters are the subject of public debate, whether regarding road safety or parking, private and shared scooters are almost always lumped together, even though they are fundamentally different.

“Banning [shared scooters] will not stop people from getting around. It will drive users towards private, unregulated, untraceable and genuinely dangerous scooters, or towards more polluting modes of transport. Neither of these scenarios serves Brussels’ objectives regarding safety, congestion or the climate.”

Since the ban was announced in Brussels, the Benelux Union, a partnership between Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, has called for the European Commission to create a single framework for all EU countries, which could make it easier for other countries to make their own regulations.

Benelux pointed out there are inconsistent safety standards among member states, and not all vehicles on the market were safe and suitable to be used on public roads. The lack of guidelines also make it difficult to prevent unsafe vehicles from being put out for hire.

The UK has banned privately owned e-scooters from public roads and pavements, meaning the only legal place to ride your own e-scooter is on private land. There are a handful of legal rental schemes in some areas of London, Birmingham, and other cities, with strict criteria such as limiting the e-scooters to 12.5mph, banning riders under 18, and requiring a provisional licence to hire one.

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