Balogun situation: Belgium has reportedly been given the chance to challenge the suspension
Belgium’s football federation has been given the right to appeal a controversial decision that led to FIFA lifting the one-match ban for United States striker Folarin Balogun. The American player was sent off in the second half for the United States. to conquer Bosnia and Herzegovina for a challenge on a defender, the referee punished him with a red card following a VAR review. FIFA’s disciplinary committee decided to overturn the decision on Sunday and allow Balogun to play against Belgium on Monday.
However, Belgium will have the right to appeal the controversial decision handed down on Monday morning, as well as a possible match-time decision, although FIFA cannot guarantee that will be the case, according to a report by The Athletic.
Rudi Garcia, manager of the Belgian national team, during the press conference before the match on Sunday said that “the Belgian federation is not only defending itself or the national team. It doesn’t matter who starts in the USA What is important for me is the field, my team, the victory, and reaching the quarterfinals.
The President of the United States Donald Trump also commented on the decision taken by FIFA and sent the following message on Truth Social on Sunday: “Thank you to FIFA for doing the right thing, and reversing a great injustice!” According to The New York Times, Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino after the 32nd round to review the decision to suspend Balogun. According to multiple reports, Trump reached out to Infantino about the red card as the US government lobbied FIFA to reverse the decision. FIFA maintains that all decisions are made by an impartial disciplinary committee.
Belgium’s latest statement
On Monday, the Belgian FA released another statement, explaining their thinking and opinion on the events that took place:
After reading media reports about FIFA’s decision to lift Balogun’s automatic suspension, the RBFA sent a letter to FIFA requesting a copy of the decision, an explanation of the procedure followed, and set out its position on the applicable regulations.
As its only response, FIFA sent a letter to the RBFA stating that it considers the letter a complaint, that a judge has been appointed, and that the RBFA has only a few hours to complete the appeal. No information provided by FIFA.
For an appeal to be accepted, FIFA’s own regulations state that a reasonable decision must first be communicated to the complainant. While the RBFA was simply seeking official explanations, FIFA itself created a complaint and quickly confirmed that it would be declared inadmissible.
All this happened while FIFA at the same time refused to respond to the RBFA’s official requests.
Furthermore, during the game’s development meeting, FIFA deliberately removed the section on automatic player suspensions from its presentation. This topic however was part of all such meetings before the last four games. The RBFA asked FIFA, verbally and in writing, about the reasons for this change, but did not receive a response.
To be clear, as of now, the RBFA has not received a decision or explanation from FIFA regarding this matter. So there is no alternative but to challenge the player’s eligibility for the upcoming match.
Regardless of the sporting outcome of this game, the RBFA is deeply concerned about the course of events and will continue to fight in the coming hours, days and months to protect the basic principles of ethics, fair competition, and the interests of football as a whole.
A strong statement from UEFA
UEFA, football’s governing body in Europe, has also weighed in on the dispute, criticizing FIFA’s handling of the situation:
Yesterday’s decision to suspend the year’s tests was the implementation of an automatic one-match suspension following a red card given to player Folarin Balogun for crossing the red line. Football, like other sports, depends on the rules, which are the basis of fair, honest and transparent competition. Sometimes the rules are open to interpretation. This time it is not. The automatic minimum suspension of one match following a red card is not an optional option and does not require a suspension decision by the competent authority. It is a rule-based goal, which cannot be imposed under exceptional circumstances, let alone in the middle of a tournament where many other players were in the same situation and accustomed to their suspension.
If the certainty of the rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at risk and the credibility of the competition is undermined. Equally, such a decision creates a precedent in the ongoing competition, where the same conditions will now need to be treated equally, to the detriment of the competition.
Football is the most popular game in the world because it is a good and trusted game because it is played everywhere with the same rules. A tournament is never independent and, when the tournament in question is the World Cup, it has the power to drive positive or negative results in the game as a whole.
We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjust decision.
