SEATTLE (AP) — Folarin Balogun’s one-game suspension was lifted by FIFA on Sunday, allowing him to play in Monday’s World Cup Round of 16 match against Belgium.
Balogun leads the American team with three goals; received a red card For stepping on the foot of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Tarik Muharemovic in Wednesday’s round of 32 win 2-0.
FIFA announced on Sunday that “the implementation of match suspensions will be suspended for a one-year trial period”. “If Folarin Balogun commits another violation of a similar nature and severity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction shall be enforced without prejudice to any additional sanctions imposed for the new violation.”
The U.S. Soccer Federation said Sunday that Balogun was not available for comment.
The host nation, the United States, is aiming to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002. The United States lost in the round of 16 to Ghana in 2010, Belgium in 2014, and the Netherlands in 2022. They failed to make it through the group stage in 2006 and were unable to qualify for the 2018 tournament.
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