World Cup 2026: England defender Jarell Quansah banned for two games after Mexico red card, Fifa says

England defender Jarell Quansah has been given a two-match ban for his red card against Mexico.

Quansah was sent off in the 54th minute of the 3-2 win following a high challenge on Jesus Gallardo.

It was classed as serious foul play, meaning the Bayer Leverkusen player was handed an extra match on top of the automatic one-game suspension by Fifa’s disciplinary committee.

Former Liverpool man Quansah will miss Saturday’s quarter-final with Norway (22:00 BST) and a potential semi-final against Argentina or Switzerland.

Quansah, 23, will be available if England reach the final in New Jersey on 19 July.

The Football Association was considering whether to appeal, but under the tournament regulations there is no avenue to contest the ban.

The punishment shows a further inconsistency with the treatment of United States forward Folarin Balogun.

Striker Balogun was sent off for serious foul play against Bosnia-Herzegovina and should also have received a ban for two games.

The 25-year-old was set to miss his side’s last-16 tie against Belgium, but Fifa made the shock decision to ban him for only one match, and suspend it for 12 months.

US President Donald Trump confirmed he called Fifa president Gianni Infantino to request a review of that red card.

In an 871-word statement about the Balogun situation, Fifa said it took the decision “considering all of the specific circumstances surrounding the incident and evidence available”, without detailing what had been taken into account.

That led to widespread criticism within the game, including from Uefa, Belgium and England boss Thomas Tuchel.

It led to France submitting a challenge to Michael Olise’s yellow card from their victory over Paraguay, which was dismissed by Fifa.