The Belgian Football Association (RBFA) has confirmed it will challenge the eligibility of United States striker Folarin Balogun if he features in the World Cup round of 16 match against Belgium. This follows FIFA's rejection of Belgium's appeal against the suspension of Balogun's one-match ban.
FIFA Rejects Belgian Appeal
FIFA dismissed Belgium's appeal, stating that "the request was rendered inadmissible on the grounds that the RBFA is not a party to the proceedings and, as such, has no standing to appeal the decision." The governing body added that "this leaves all further actions open" for Belgium.
Balogun was sent off in the United States' round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina after unintentionally catching Tarik Muharemovic with his studs. Following a VAR review, the former Arsenal forward received a straight red card and was expected to miss the round of 16 fixture against Belgium.
One-Match Ban Suspended
On Sunday, FIFA announced that Balogun's one-game ban had been suspended for a year. The United States had not been granted permission to appeal the red card decision. The reduction of Balogun's sanction attracted criticism after US President Donald Trump acknowledged he had telephoned FIFA President Gianni Infantino to request a review.
Infantino insisted he played no part in the disciplinary process. In a statement, he said: "I have seen the public comments regarding the decision of the independent FIFA Disciplinary Committee related to the suspension of Folarin Balogun, and I would like to reiterate a fundamental principle of FIFA's governance. FIFA's judicial bodies are independent. They operate autonomously, apply the FIFA Disciplinary Code, and decide cases based on the applicable regulations and the specific facts before them."
Infantino added: "Yes, I regularly discuss matters related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States, and on this matter, I did receive a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football stakeholders and business executives from around the world on many different issues. During our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA's independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies."
Belgium's Frustration with FIFA
The Belgian FA had previously voiced frustration with FIFA's handling of the matter, vowing to contest the ruling for "the coming hours, days and months." In a statement, the RBFA detailed its attempts to obtain information from FIFA: "After learning through media reports of FIFA's decision to lift the automatic suspension of player Balogun, the RBFA sent a letter to FIFA requesting a copy of the decision, an explanation of the process that had been followed, and setting out its position regarding the applicable regulations."
The statement continued: "As its only response, FIFA sent a letter to the RBFA stating that it considered this correspondence to constitute an appeal, that a judge had been appointed, and that the RBFA had only a few hours to complete that appeal. No information whatsoever was provided by FIFA. For an appeal to be admissible, FIFA's own regulations state that the reasoned decision must first have been communicated to the appellant. While the RBFA was merely seeking legitimate explanations, FIFA itself created an appeal and immediately ensured that it would be declared inadmissible."
The RBFA also noted that during the match coordination meeting, FIFA deliberately removed the section concerning the automatic suspension of players from its presentation, a topic that had been part of all such meetings before each of the previous four matches. The RBFA questioned FIFA about the change but received no response.
RBFA to Continue Fight
"To be clear, as of this moment, the RBFA has still not received any decision or any explanation from FIFA regarding this matter. It therefore has no alternative but to challenge the player's eligibility for the upcoming match," the statement said. "Regardless of the sporting outcome of this match, the RBFA is deeply concerned by the course of events and will continue to fight in the coming hours, days and months in defence of the fundamental principles of ethics, fair competition, and the interests of football as a whole."
