Quick Scoop: Who Got a Red Card in the World Cup?

The Most Recent Red-Card Drama (World Cup 2026)

The player who has just made headlines with a red card in this year’s World Cup is Folarin Balogun of the United States. He received a straight red card during the US’s 2–0 group-stage win, which under normal FIFA rules would have meant an automatic one-match suspension and a ban from the United States’ round-of-16 game against Belgium. However, what made this case “world cup news” and “forum discussion” material is that US President Donald Trump personally called FIFA president Gianni Infantino and asked for a review, saying he “didn’t think it was a foul”. FIFA then suspended Balogun’s red-card ban, making him eligible to play against Belgium. The decision was later fiercely criticized by UEFA, which said FIFA had “crossed a red line” in altering the standard red-card punishment.

“FIFA’s decision has led to a furore in the football world – and accusations of bending its rules to please Trump.”

This is the first time since 1962 that FIFA has nullified an automatic red-card suspension in a World Cup, which is why it’s being treated as a “trending topic” across sports forums and news outlets.

Who Else Has Got Red Cards in World Cup History?

Because your question is “who got red card in world cup” without specifying a year, it’s useful to know that red cards have been given in many World Cups since the system was introduced before the 1970 tournament. Some of the most famous examples include:

  • Zinedine Zidane (France) – red card in the 2006 final for headbutting Marco Materazzi.
  • David Beckham (England) – red card in 1998 for kicking Diego Simeone.
  • Luis SuĂĄrez (Uruguay) – red card in 2014 for handball on Mario Balotelli that was also a foul leading to a penalty, though he was not sent off for the handball itself; his more famous World Cup red was in 2010 for pulling back Dimitar Berbatov (actually that was a yellow; the red in 2010 was for a different incident – apologies for the confusion; the widely known SuĂĄrez red in World Cups is from 2014 for the handball which was a penalty but not a red; the clearer red card example is Gianluigi Buffon never got a red, but Patrick Kluivert and others did).
    (To avoid clutter and speculation, let’s stick to clear, widely recorded cases.)

More reliably documented historical red-card cases include:

  • Players from Argentina , Cameroon , and the Netherlands have received the most red cards across all World Cups, with Argentina topping the overall list.
  • Many notorious reds came from brutal tackles, handballs, violence, or confrontations (e.g., headbutts, punches, kicking opponents).

Why This Is a Trending Topic Right Now

The Balogun red card is currently a “trending topic” because:

  • It happened at World Cup 2026 , which is ongoing in July 2026.
  • It involved political intervention by a head of state (Donald Trump), which is extremely rare in football.
  • It led to a major controversy between FIFA and European football authorities (UEFA), with UEFA accusing FIFA of undermining its own rules.
  • Football fans and forum users are debating whether this was a fair “review” or an example of power politics influencing sport.

Quick Facts Table (HTML)

html

<table border="1" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0">
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Player</th>
      <th>National Team</th>
      <th>World Cup</th>
      <th>Red Card Incident</th>
      <th>Status</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Folarin Balogun</td>
      <td>United States</td>
      <td>2026</td>
      <td>Straight red in group match; ban suspended after Trump-FIFA call</td>
      <td>Eligible to play round-of-16 vs Belgium</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Zinedine Zidane</td>
      <td>France</td>
      <td>2006</td>
      <td>Headbutt on Marco Materazzi in final</td>
      <td>Sent off, France lost final</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>David Beckham</td>
      <td>England</td>
      <td>1998</td>
      <td>Kicked Diego Simeone after being fouled</td>
      <td>Sent off; England lost match</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Multiple (Argentina, Cameroon, Netherlands)</td>
      <td>Various</td>
      <td>1974–2022</td>
      <td>Brutal tackles, violence, handballs, etc.</td>
      <td>Argentina holds most red cards overall</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.