The Belgian federation challenged FIFA’s decision to allow Folarin Balogun to play in the World Cup match.
Update 1:40 p.m. ET, July 6: FIFA has denied Belgium’s appeal to overturn its decision that allows Balogun to play in Monday’s game. The New York Times reported.
The appeal committee called the request “inadmissible,” saying that the Royal Belgian Football Association is not a party to the proceedings and, as such, has no standing to appeal the decision.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump told reporters that he did ask FIFA president Gianni Infantino to review the red card call.
“All I did was ask for a review,” Trump said. “I didn’t think it was a foul,” he added, according to The Associated Press. “I thought it was two great athletes that crashed each other and got entangled.”
Original report: Balogun had been issued a red card and was suspended during the U.S. team’s win over Bosnia, but the league decided to put his automatic suspension on hold for a year under Article 27 of FIFA’s disciplinary code.
Balogun stepped on the ankle of Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic during their match in the round of 32, The Associated Press reported. The U.S. won 2-0.
Despite the delay in punishment, Balogun could find himself out of the tournament.
“If Folarin Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement,” FIFA said in a statement, according to The Washington Post.
Before the decision to appeal, Belgium’s coach Rudi Garcia said the organization’s move was like an April Fool’s Day prank.
“I didn’t realize July 5 was equal to April 1 at FIFA,” he said via an interpreter. “We are not defending the national team or the federation — we are defending football, whether it’s ethics or integrity.”
The Union of European Football Association (UEFA) said the probationary period “crossed a red line.”
“Football, like any other sports, relies on rules, which are the basis for fair, honest and transparent competition. Sometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case not. A minimum automatic suspension of one match following a red card is not a discretionary option and does not require the decision of a competent body to be enacted. It is a principle embedded in regulations, which cannot be made subject to exceptions, let alone in the middle of a tournament where several other players have been in the same situation and regularly served their suspension,” the group said.
On Monday morning, hours before the U.S faces Belgium in the quarterfinals, Belgium was given the right to appeal and did so, The Athletic reported.
The Royal Belgian Football Association told The Athletic that it had “no alternative but to challenge (Balogun’s) eligibility for the upcoming match”.
The team said it learned of FIFA’s decision through media reports and is asking for an explanation of “the process” and “applicable regulations.”
“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,” RBFA said, according to The Athletic.
“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.
“All of this occurred while FIFA simultaneously refused to respond to the RBFA’s legitimate requests … 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.”
Belgium and the U.S. face off at 8pm ET (5PM PT) at Lumen Field in Seattle.
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