The White House made a direct call to FIFA to ask them to review Folarin Balogun’s World Cup ban ahead of the USA’s clash with Belgium, GIVEMESPORT sources understand.

Balogun was shown a straight red card during the United States’ 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina after he stumbled and stood on the back of defender Tarik Muharemovic, ruling him out of the Last 16 clash with an automatic one-game suspension.

Manager Mauricio Pochettino was furious at the decision, which the referee made after being sent to review the incident on the pitchside monitor by VAR, but it was confirmed that the USA could not appeal Balogun’s suspension due to competition rules.

However, it was announced on Sunday afternoon (5th July) that Balogun would now be available to feature in the game after FIFA opted to suspend his suspension, instead handing him a one-year probationary period.

Sources: White House Called FIFA Over Balogun Ban

Evelyn Hockstein via Reuters

GIVEMESPORT sources understand that decision came after The White House made a direct call to FIFA to ask Gianni Infantino to review Balogun’s sending off and subsequent suspension.

FIFA were approached for comment and referred to the findings of its independent committee. FIFA sources insist that White House influence could not affect the decision due to the powers contained in Article 27 and the independent nature of the disciplinary panel.

The decision means that Balogun will now be available to lead the line for his nation in the Round of 16 on Monday night, having been in spectacular form throughout the tournament.

The Monaco star, who came through the Hale End academy at Arsenal, is the USMNT’s top scorer in the tournament, having scored four times. He has registered at least one goal contribution in all three of his starts at the competition, having been rested for the final group game against Turkey on match day 3.

With a number of top midfielders already on the move this summer, the pool of options for those clubs in the market for reinforcements gets smaller.

Manchester City completed the signing of Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest in a £116million, making the 23-year-old the most expensive British player in history.

Tottenham have brought in two midfielders, with Mateus Fernandes joining from West Ham United in an £85million deal and Sandro Tonali set to arrive for a fixed fee of £92.5million that could rise to £100million with add-ons.

Midfielders who could still complete transfers this summer

Burt Granofsky/Cal Sport Media/Sipa USA

Manchester United have agreed a deal with Atalanta to sign Ederson for £38million, but both they and City are still in the market for another midfielder, while the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool have also been linked with signing a central midfielder in the summer transfer window.

Carlos Baleba, Adam Wharton, Alex Scott, Aurelien Tchouameni, Manu Kone and Ayyoub Bouaddi are the other names in the frame for a summer move and three of the sides mentioned have already made inquiries over the availability of one of the players mentioned above.

GIVEMESPORT senior football correspondent Ben Jacobs revealed all in a video on TalkSport on Sunday.

He said: “City are still active in the market, they will assess another midfielder, even after the arrival of Elliot Anderson for £116million, they like Alex Scott and have made an initial approach to Bournemouth, as have Manchester United and Arsenal, these are three clubs to watch.

“Those three clubs I mentioned have all gone to Bournemouth. My information is as follows: Bournemouth want him to stay, since March there have been talks about Scott signing a new deal at Bournemouth and they are prepared to offer him a deal with a release clause for 2027.

Bournemouth make Scott transfer stance clear

“If he rejects, Bournemouth are comfortable, even though his value will depreciate, in just keeping him for another season on the existing terms, so they’re telling interested suitors he’s not for sale. Bournemouth value Scott at around £80million.

“Man City, Man Utd and Arsenal have all already made direct approaches to Bournemouth for Alex Scott to understand the situation and Bournemouth’s response has been that Alex Scott is not for sale.”

The 22-year-old enjoyed an impressive 2025/26 campaign on the south coast, starting 34 of the Cherries’ 38 Premier League matches. He scored four goals and provided one assist across all competitions.

Junior tennis prospect Ida Wobker was instantly disqualified from Wimbledon on Saturday due to an emotional outburst that led to her breaking tournament rules.

On paper, Wobker arrived at SW19 with high expectations. Ranked 24th in the ITF junior standings and fresh off capturing her biggest career title at the J500 in Cairo, the teenager represents the bright future of German tennis. The transition to Wimbledon’s grass, however, can be an isolating experience for a young tennis player who is still not used to playing on it.

Over the course of 91 torrid minutes, that pedigree vanished under a mountain of frustration. The statistics were staggering, highlighting a player fighting her own strings as much as her opponent. When the match was halted, Wobker had racked up an unbelievable 44 unforced errors.

Teenage Tennis Prospect Disqualified After Wimbledon Outburst

In the midst of her struggles, Wobker had a complete meltdown, launching her racket into the crowd and inadvertently striking a spectator. The umpire didn’t hesitate to bring the match to an instant conclusion, disqualifying Wobker and handing the win to her opponent, Romania’s Maria Valentina Pop.

Wobker was trapped in an exhausting sporting paradox throughout the match. She hit more winners than Pop (19 to 8), but her hyper-aggressive baseline game was bleeding points faster than she could recover them.

Every statistical indicator pointed to a teenager entirely out of rhythm and struggling to find her footing. Wobker leaked 11 double faults, effectively handing Pop nearly three entire games without the Romanian needing to swing a racket.

The breaking point arrived cruel statistical finality. Serving at 30-0 in the eleventh game of the second set, Pop watched as Wobker sailed yet another routine return past the baseline. It was unforced error number 44. In a flash of pure, unbridled desperation from a young player watching her dream debut slip away, the German teenager slammed her racket, thus triggering an immediate default from the Grand Slam supervisor under the ITF’s unsportsmanlike conduct rules.

Update Emerges on Spectator Struck By Racket at Wimbledon

Andrew Couldridge via Reuters

Numbers usually tell the story of a tennis match, but during Saturday’s girls’ singles opener on court 11, they painted a picture of absolute, mounting agony. When 15-year-old German starlet Wobker was disqualified after her violently thrown racket ricocheted into the crowd, it put a dramatic end to a match that structurally and emotionally fell apart long before the default.

While reports from The Athletic later confirmed that the racket made contact with a spectator but thankfully caused no injuries, the damage to Wobker’s Wimbledon debut was absolute. The scoreboard will forever record a standard default, but the true story of the meltdown lies in numbers; a premier young talent utterly shattered by 44 errors, 11 double faults, and the immense, suffocating pressure of the Grand Slam stage.