England’s Jarell Quansah has been given a two-match ban for the red card he received during England’s round-of-16 win over Mexico.
England’s Jarell Quansah has been given a two-match ban for the red card he received during England’s round-of-16 win over Mexico.
Under FIFA’s rules, any World Cup sending-off offence is accompanied by a ban for the team’s next game, according to Article 10.5 of the tournament regulations.
But FIFA confirmed in a statement on Thursday, two days before England’s quarter-final against Norway, that the 23-year-old defender will also be banned for his country’s semi-final, if they advance.
“The suspension will be served in the upcoming match(es) of the representative team of England in the FIFA World Cup 2026 and in accordance with art. 69 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code,” a FIFA statement said.
There is no mechanism in FIFA’s rules for the 2026 tournament for teams to appeal against red cards, but the FA had been considering its options over the sanction.
Bayer Leverkusen’s Quansah had started two games at right-back for England at the World Cup, filling in for the injured Reece James. His absence leaves Djed Spence as the only fit natural right-back in England’s squad, with James having missed the last three matches due a hamstring issue.
Quansah was sent off in the early stages of the second half in England’s 3-2 win over Mexico on Sunday night, his second appearance and start of the tournament.
The French Football Federation had also approached FIFA over rescinding Michael Olise’s yellow card during their last-16 win over Paraguay, but that booking has been upheld. A yellow card in their quarter-final against Morocco would rule Olise out of the semi-final, should France qualify.
That followed the controversial FIFA decision that allowed Folarin Balogun to play for the United States against Belgium despite his red card in the round before.
The striker had been sent off in the USMNT’s win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, but FIFA controversially confirmed his subsequent one-game ban would be suspended for a year. Balogun started the Belgium game and the U.S. lost 4-1.
It later came to light that U.S. President Donald Trump had called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to ask for a review of Balogun’s ban, leading to the Belgian FA challenging his eligibility to “defend football in general — its integrity and its ethics”, head coach Rudi Garcia said in a news conference.
England take on Norway in their quarter-final in Miami on Saturday.