England have suffered a major setback ahead of their FIFA World Cup quarter-final against Norway after defender Jarell Quansah received a two-match suspension from FIFA.
According to Metro, Quansah was sent off during England’s dramatic 3-2 victory over Mexico in the Round of 16 after a second-half challenge on Jesus Gallardo resulted in a straight red card.
While a red card would normally carry an automatic one-match suspension, FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee added another match after ruling that the tackle amounted to serious foul play.
The punishment means Quansah will miss Saturday’s quarter-final against Norway and would also be unavailable for a potential semi-final against either Argentina or Switzerland on July 15 if England progress.
FIFA confirmed that the defender was suspended for breaching Article 14 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, with the ban to be served during England’s remaining World Cup fixtures.
The Football Association reportedly considered an appeal after FIFA overturned the suspension of United States forward Folarin Balogun, but Quansah’s punishment was upheld.
England manager Thomas Tuchel questioned FIFA’s disciplinary consistency, arguing that different outcomes in similar cases had created uncertainty during the tournament.
Meanwhile, England face further suspension concerns, with Declan Rice, Marc Guehi and Nico O’Reilly on yellow cards after the Mexico match, while Jude Bellingham was booked against DR Congo. Another yellow card for any of them against Norway could rule them out of a possible semi-final.
