England Mulls Protest Against Red Card for Bundesliga Star, Thomas Tuchel Deems It a Clear Mistake

Following the controversial 'pardon' granted to US striker Folarin Balogun, a wave of protests is looming over FIFA. According to English media reports, the English Football Association (FA) is considering its avenues for appealing the red card issued to Jarell Quansah during the round of 16 match against Mexico (3-2).

Typically, a sending-off automatically results in a one-match suspension. However, Balogun's ban was reportedly suspended by FIFA following an intervention from US President Donald Trump.

England's team manager, Thomas Tuchel, maintained after the game that the dismissal of Quansah, who is contracted with Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen, was unjustified.

Similar to the Balogun case, no foul was initially called on the field. The referee, Alireza Faghani from Iran, only issued the red card after consulting with VAR. Consequently, England played with ten men from the 54th minute onwards.

Thomas Tuchel Jokes About Harry Kane Calling Donald Trump

Addressing the possibility of an appeal against the red card, Tuchel questioned the precedent: "Where does this stop? Do we appeal when a yellow card isn't a yellow card? (...) The decision has been made. Who overturns this decision, and when, and on what grounds?" When asked if captain Harry Kane could contact Donald Trump to get the suspension lifted, Tuchel, visibly amused, responded: "Perhaps. That's a good start." Trump had publicly identified himself as a fan of Kane after the match and mentioned playing golf with England's captain.

Meanwhile, the French Football Federation (FFF) has already requested the annulment of the yellow card shown to Michael Olise. The player, who plays for Bayern Munich, was cautioned in stoppage time during Saturday's World Cup round of 16 match against Paraguay (1-0) by Uzbek referee Ilgis Tantaschew. The caution followed an altercation with Matias Galarza. However, video footage appears to show Galarza dramatically falling to the ground without being touched by Olise.