Jarell Quansah banned for two World Cup matches by Fifa after red card against Mexico | OneFootball

Jarell Quansah has been banned for two games by Fifa for his red card in England’s last-16 win over Mexico.

Quansah was sent off after VAR review following a reckless sliding challenge which saw his studs go into the shin of Jesus Gallardo.

England were considering appealing the decision after Fifa suspended USA striker Folarin Balogun’s one-match ban, something that was lobbied for by US president Donald Trump in a hugely controversial move.

However, England have now discovered that Quansah’s suspension has been doubled to two matches instead of one after Fifa found him in breach of Article 14 of their code of conduct, which states a player would get a two-game ban for serious foul play.

open image in gallery

Jarell Quansah has been handed a two-game ban (Getty)

It means the Bayer Leverkusen defender will miss both Saturday’s quarter-final against Norway as well as a potential semi-final against either Argentina or Switzerland, with the only prospect of a return for the defender being in the final if Thomas Tuchel’s side get that far.

Fifa and Gianni Infantino have been under heavy fire for the decision to wipe Balogun’s ban for the host nation’s last-16 meeting with Belgium, which they went on to lose 4-1 in Seattle.

The decision, which saw Fifa enact a little-known clause in their regulations that allowed them to “suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure”, came after receiving a phone call from Trump who openly admitted to intervening, reaching out to Fifa counterpart Infantino - whose close relationship with the president is often the subject of scrutiny - to request a review.

Fifa had previously been criticised for lacking an official avenue to appeal red cards at the World Cup after Balogun’s contentious sending off against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Allowing Balogun to play, however, opened Fifa up to accusations of preferential treatment and succumbing to political influence, with Infantino faced with intense calls to resign.

It also blurred the lines for the process of appealing refereeing decisions at this World Cup. France have already seen an appeal rejected to rescind Michael Olise’s yellow card against Paraguay, while England said they would “consider all options” regarding an appeal for Quansah’s red card.

Tuchel insisted that Quansah did not deserve to be sent off after the Mexico clash – and also criticised Fifa’s decision to overturn Balogun’s red card.

"Who overturns this decision and when and on what grounds?” he said at his post-match press conference. “And how far does this go now? It is just strange for me. We just want to have consistency in the decisions."

He continued: "Where does this end? I don't know the rules. I am the wrong person to ask. I will wait and see what's coming.”

England have not confirmed whether they launched an official appeal to Fifa over Quansah’s red card.

open image in gallery

Quansah’s foul on Jesus Gallardo resulted in a red card after a VAR review (Martin Rickett/PA) (PA Wire)

There were also calls for UK prime minister Keir Starmer to follow Trump’s lead and contact Fifa over reviewing the decision.

Starmer’s intervention, however, came before the Mexico clash amid a potential last-minute kick-off change due to threat of storms over the Estadio Azteca.

Starmer is understood to have supported representations from the Football Association aimed at preventing Fifa from bringing forward the kick-off time of the match in Mexico City from 6pm to 12pm due to a storm threat, a move which would have cut short England’s preparations for the last-16 match at high altitude.

Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House’s World Cup Task Force, said that was more significant than Trump calling Infantino asking to review Balogun’s dismissal.

“I would look at (Starmer’s involvement) as a far more egregious situation when you think of the fact that the reason for potentially moving the game earlier was because there were three Mexicans that lost their lives after the round of 32 (win over Ecuador) because it was so late and you had over a million Mexicans coming in (to the city centre),” Giuliani told Times Radio.

“The reasons there were discussions was for life and safety. I think that’s where the discussion should be – less about the play on the field.

“One (intervention) is life and safety, the other one is play on the pitch. I think you can see a very clear difference on that.”