One day after FIFA ruled on Sunday that United States national team striker Folarin Balogun can play in Monday night’s World Cup round of 16 clash against Belgium, it denied Belgium’s appeal on the basis that the disciplinary process does not concern their players.
“The request was rendered inadmissible on the grounds that the RBFA [Royal Belgian Football Association] is not a party to the proceedings and, as such, has no standing to appeal the decision,” FIFA said in a statement issued Monday.
The RBFA confirmed this and said its plans to contest Balogun’s eligibility — presumably to the Court of Arbitration for Sport — should he be listed on the American teamsheet on Monday night.
“The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) has received the decision of the FIFA Appeal Committee, signed by its member Mr Salman Al-Ansari, which declares the RBFA’s case inadmissible and confirms the earlier decision allowing United States player Folarin Balogun to play,” read an RBFA statement.
“To date, the RBFA has still not received any grounds for this decision, nor has it received the information it has been requesting since the start of the procedure. The RBFA has informed the United States Soccer Federation that it contests the eligibility of the player, should the player be listed on the referee’s team sheet. This leaves all further actions open.”
Balogun, who has scored three goals in the tournament, was originally suspended for his red card received in the Americans’ 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32.
The decision immediately sparked controversy based on the nature of Balogun’s foul on Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic as well as the use of slow-motion video replay to reach the decision. However, the discourse was not unanimous that the wrong call had been made.
It was believed that U.S. Soccer had no recourse, as FIFA does not have an appeals process to dispute yellow and red cards.
However, multiple reports said U.S. president Donald Trump reached out directly to FIFA president Gianni Infantino regarding the compulsory one-match suspension for red card offenses.
On Sunday, FIFA indicated its disciplinary committee had cleared Balogun to play via a probationary measure, without a further explanation.
While taking credit for initiating the review, the Trump administration denied directly swaying FIFA’s process, something Infantino reiterated in a statement that also confirmed a conversation with Trump.
“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,” Infantino said in a statement. “That is how FIFA’s system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold.
“I read the decisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee when they are issued. Sometimes I am surprised by them. Sometimes I agree with them, and sometimes I disagree.
“What I always do, however, is respect those decisions and the autonomy of the bodies that make them. Whether we personally like a decision or not is irrelevant. Respect for independent institutions and the rule of law is what protects the integrity of our competitions and the credibility of FIFA at all times.”
Officially, Balogun’s ban is suspended rather than overturned. If he were to commit a similar offense during the next calendar year in a FIFA-sanctioned match, he would serve the one-match ban in addition to any other suspensions that came with the next offense, per FIFA.
–Ian Nicholas Quillen, Field Level Media
