Folarin Balogun celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between USA and Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 01, 2026. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
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Folarin Balogun’s red card was already controversial. FIFA’s decision to let him play in the next match made it even more so.
Balogun, who plays as a striker for the U.S. men’s national team, was sent off during the United States’ World Cup match against Bosnia and Herzegovina after a VAR review. VAR, short for Video Assistant Referee, allows match officials to review certain major decisions, including goals, penalty calls, direct red cards, and cases of mistaken identity.
In this case, Balogun clipped the back of Tarik Muharemović’s leg with his cleats, which was considered serious foul play and resulted in a red card. The decision meant that the U.S. had to finish the match with ten men. Under the usual FIFA disciplinary framework, a sending-off also carries a next-match suspension, which would have kept Balogun out of the Round of 16 match against Belgium. However, FIFA later suspended the one-match suspension and will allow Balogun to play against Belgium, citing Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. Belgium’s federation objected, arguing that the automatic suspension rules should still apply and issuing a formal challenge, but FIFA denied the appeal.
That makes the sports-law question interesting. But for tax purposes, the question is slightly different: What if a player receives a financial penalty in connection with a red card? The answer, as with many tax questions, is: it depends.
What Is a Red Card?
In soccer, cards indicate the level of discipline. A yellow card is a caution (if a player receives a second yellow card in the same match, it results in a red card, and the player is sent off). A red card means the player, substitute, substituted player, or team official has been sent off, and the team must play the rest of the match short-handed.
The consequences after the match depend on the governing rules. In FIFA competitions, a red card generally triggers an automatic suspension from the next match, although FIFA’s disciplinary bodies may impose additional sanctions depending on the circumstances.
Does a Red Card Automatically Mean a Fine?
A red card automatically carries consequences, but it does not automatically mean that the player receives a bill. FIFA’s disciplinary rules allow a range of disciplinary measures, including fines.
Leagues and clubs may have their own disciplinary systems. In U.S. sports, the NFL does something similar. In American football, a player may be penalized during the game, but the league can still review the play afterward and impose a separate fine or suspension. Those fines are not random—the NFL and NFLPA collectively bargain over an on-field code of conduct and a fines schedule, and players have the right to appeal.
Major League Soccer (MLS) in the U.S. has also fined players after red-card-related incidents. Earlier this year, for example, the MLS Disciplinary Committee suspended Vancouver Whitecaps FC forward Emmanuel Sabbi for one match and fined Sabbi an undisclosed amount for serious foul play in the 50th minute of Vancouver’s match against Real Salt Lake.
In the UK, the English FA publishes a list of disciplinary consequences, including fines and suspensions, for card offenses. Those fines are, however, generally small (as low as £10 plus a £15 administrative fee)—not painful for a highly paid player, but not so great for those who are on a lower base salary.
National-team players can also face monetary discipline. For example, in World Cup qualifying, FIFA fined Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo CHF 5,000 and imposed a three-match suspension, with two matches under probation, for violent conduct in Portugal’s November 13, 2025, match against the Republic of Ireland. FIFA cited Article 27, which allows the option to “fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure.”
Ordinary and Necessary Business Expenses
For U.S. tax purposes, fines—even for bad behavior—may be deductible.
Section 162 of the tax code allows a deduction for “ordinary and necessary expenses” paid or incurred in carrying on a trade or business. For a professional athlete, playing soccer is generally a trade or business.
An expense is generally “ordinary” if it is common and accepted in the taxpayer’s trade or business. It is “necessary” if it is appropriate and helpful for that business. That does not mean the expense must be indispensable. It does mean there must be a real business connection. So, the key tax question is whether the fine is an ordinary and necessary expense of the player’s trade or business as a professional athlete.
Soccer is a contact sport. Fouls and cards are part of the game even at the international level. Lionel Messi—arguably the most famous soccer player in the world—has received at least three red cards in his professional career. In 2005, in his debut with Argentina, he was sent off in a match with Hungary shortly after coming on. He was sent off again in 2019 in a Copa América match against Chile. And in 2021, during the Spanish Super Cup final, he received his first and only red card at the club level while playing for Barcelona.
Cristiano Ronaldo, the world’s highest-paid athlete, has also received red cards throughout his professional and international career. He drew six with Real Madrid, four with Manchester United, one with Juventus, one with Al Nassr, and one with Portugal. (He also received a red card while playing for the Portugal U17 squad in 2002, in youth competition).
That shows that red cards are a part of the game. A related fine may also be viewed as a cost of remaining eligible, employed, or in good standing with a team, league, or federation.
Of course, the IRS could still push back. A fine is punitive by nature. It may reflect misconduct rather than a normal cost of doing business, which would make it nondeductible. Importantly, the fact that an expense arises in a work setting does not automatically make it deductible.
Government Fines Are a Different Problem
If the fine is imposed by a government or governmental entity in connection with a violation of law, the tax answer would likely be different. Section 162(f) generally disallows deductions for amounts paid or incurred in connection with the violation of civil or criminal law. Treasury regulations under section 162(f) likewise deny deductions for certain fines, penalties, and similar amounts paid to a government or governmental entity in relation to a legal violation.
That is why a speeding ticket does not become deductible just because you’re driving to a business meeting. The fact that misconduct happened while you’re at work does not magically flip a government penalty into a business expense.
For athletes, that distinction is important. A government-imposed fine or penalty is not the same as a private disciplinary payment imposed by a club, league, or federation.
Employee or Independent Contractor?
Many professional athletes are employees of their clubs. Some may also have separate business income from endorsements, appearances, licensing, or other activities. Whether a fine may be deductible by the player also depends on whether the fine relates to employment or to a separate business.
In the U.S., before 2018, unreimbursed employee business expenses could generally be claimed as miscellaneous itemized deductions, subject to the 2% of AGI floor. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) suspended those deductions for 2018 through 2025. Now, thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), that treatment is permanent. That means a typical employee—including a professional athlete—who pays an unreimbursed work-related expense is not entitled to a tax deduction, even if the expense feels connected to the job.
If a player has separate self-employment income, the analysis may be different. A deductible business expense may still be available if the payment is ordinary, necessary, and properly connected to that trade or business. However, a penalty connected to on-field conduct while playing for a national team is not automatically an expense of the player’s endorsement business just because it affects the player’s public profile.
What If the Club or Federation Pays a Fine?
If a club or federation pays a fine directly, the player cannot claim a deduction. But that does not mean there are no tax consequences.
If there were some discretion in the payment, and the club or federation footed the bill, it would likely be a deductible business expense for the organization, assuming it met the other criteria. In that case, there would be no tax consequences to the player.
However, if the club or federation pays a fine for which the player was strictly responsible—and there’s no policy, including a bargaining agreement, that addresses it otherwise—the payment could be considered compensation to the player. The player is receiving something of value (not having to pay the fine).
Likewise, if the player is reimbursed by the club or federation for paying the fine out of pocket, the reimbursement could be considered compensation.
What About Income?
Balogun plays club soccer for AS Monaco in Ligue 1 in France, and internationally for the U.S. men’s national team. His Monaco contract is reportedly worth €3.22 million ($3.68 million U.S.) for the 2025–26 season, excluding bonuses. That’s also exclusive of endorsements and other income. So, he could have absorbed any fines if one had been given.
But even players without professional contracts can still make money at the World Cup. FIFA’s official 2026 prize-money structure pays national associations based on finish, with the winning federation garnering up to $50 million. Advancing to the Round of 16 was enough to earn the USMNT $15 million. FIFA’s 2026 structure pays $15 million for 9th–16th place and $19 million for 5th–8th place, plus $1.5 million in preparation costs to each qualified team.
Under the U.S. Soccer equal-pay Collective Bargaining Agreements, the USMNT and USWNT pool and share FIFA World Cup prize money, with the 2026 men’s World Cup and 2027 women’s World Cup treated together.
Assuming a 26-player USMNT roster, that works out to about $230,769 per USMNT player—moving on to the quarterfinals would bump that to approximately $292,308 per player. That’s separate from the $10,000 per World Cup match appearance fee, so a player rostered for the Round of 16 would get that match fee, and if the U.S. advances, another $10,000 for the quarterfinal match.
At the World Cup level, a suspension may affect match-specific appearance pay, but it does not necessarily eliminate a player’s share of advancement-based prize money. However, since FIFA does not pay players directly (it distributes prize money to federations), how that money trickles down to players is at the federation’s discretion. That means a suspended player could still be paid.
So, What’s the Real Impact of a Red Card?
As with everything tax-related, the answer depends on the facts and circumstances.
In Balogun’s case, there’s no indication that a fine was imposed. Here, the question was availability. And even if he had not been able to play, he might have still pocketed some cash.
In the end, FIFA’s decision allowed him to play against Belgium, despite the controversy over whether the automatic suspension should have applied. And for the United States, that may have been worth far more than any deduction.