The English Football Association considers appeal after Quansah's red card

In the match between England and Mexico at the 2026 World Cup, defender Jarell Quansah received a red card in the 54th minute after a dangerous tackle on Jesus Gallardo. This match ended with a 3-2 victory for England, but Quansah's sending off caused the English Football Association (FA) to consider an appeal. Quansah, a Bayer Leverkusen player, may face a two-match ban because the referee determines this is a serious violation.

The FA is considering its options after Folarin Balogun, striker for the US team, had his previous red card penalty overturned. The US President intervened to ask FIFA to reconsider Balogun's one-match ban after he was sent off in the match against Bosnia-Herzegovina. FIFA made the unexpected decision to suspend this penalty for 12 months, causing much controversy in football. This has attracted criticism from many sides, including from England coach Thomas Tuchel.

Under World Cup regulations, there is no right of appeal for red cards, but FIFA applied clause 27 of their rules to suspend Balogun's punishment, which has never happened before at a World Cup. This could open a new wave of appeals, as the Athletic press reported that the French team is also challenging Michael Olise's yellow card in the match against Paraguay.


Although the FA is considering appealing Quansah's red card, this may not be easy, because FIFA has removed the element of intent from the rules of football. Only the result of a tackle will be considered. However, Quansah's red card is also considered quite severe, even though it was an unintentional situation. Quansah was sent off for a tackle with a shoe spike, similar to Balogun's case.

This situation further increases coach Tuchel's worries about the right-back position, as Reece James, Djed Spence, Ezri Konsa, John Stones and Quansah have all been used in this position throughout the tournament. James, the team's number one right-back, was unable to participate due to a thigh injury in the match against Ghana and missed matches against Panama, Democratic Republic of Congo and Mexico. Quansah was also injured in the match against Panama but was still healthy enough to play in the match against Mexico.

England will face Norway in the quarter-finals in Miami on Saturday, which makes it even more important for the FA to make a quick decision on Quansah's red card issue.

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