FIFA has announced that U.S. national team striker Folarin Balogun is eligible to play against Belgium in the World Cup quarterfinals, but the Belgian FA will likely vie for his spot if he is selected for Monday’s match.
Folarin Balogun is scheduled to play against Belgium (Image: John Dorton/USSF/Getty Images)
The Belgian Football Association has confirmed that it will allow Folarin Balogun to compete for eligibility if he plays for the United States against Belgium. After FIFA rejected Balogun’s appeal to lift his one-match suspension, the national body said: “This leaves open any further action.”
FIFA had earlier rejected the Belgian appeal, declaring: “This request has been held inadmissible on the grounds that the RBFA is not a party to the proceedings and is therefore not entitled to appeal the decision.”
Balogun was sent off in the World Cup last-32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina after accidentally catching Tarik Muharemovic with his studs. The former Arsenal forward was shown a straight red card after a VAR test and is expected to miss the Round of 16 match against Belgium.
Instead, FIFA announced on Sunday that he had been suspended for one year and one match. However, the United States was not allowed to appeal the red card.
The decision to reduce Balogun’s punishment has come under scrutiny after US President Donald Trump confirmed he had called FIFA chief Gianni Infantino to request a reconsideration. Infantino has since maintained that he played no role in determining Balogun’s fate.
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“After reading the public comments regarding the decision of the Independent FIFA Disciplinary Commission regarding the suspension of Folarin Balogun, I would like to reiterate the fundamental principles of FIFA governance,” he said in a statement.
“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. Their independence is essential to the credibility and integrity of football and this must be respected at all times.”
“Yes, I regularly discuss issues related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States, and on this subject I received a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, soccer officials, and business executives around the world on a variety of issues.
“During our conversation, I explained that legal proceedings involving FIFA’s independent judiciary were underway and that the matter would be decided in due course by the competent authority. That is how the FIFA system works and it is a principle that I will always uphold.”
Folarin Balogun was shown a straight red card (Image: AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
“I read the decisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee when they come out. Sometimes I am surprised by the decisions. Sometimes I agree, sometimes I don’t.
“But what I always do is respect the autonomy of those decisions and the bodies that make them, whether we personally like the decisions or not. Respect for independent institutions and the rule of law is what will always protect the integrity of our competition and the credibility of FIFA.”
The Belgian FA had previously expressed dissatisfaction with FIFA’s process and said it would contest the decision “in the coming hours, days and months”.
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“After learning from media reports of FIFA’s decision to lift Balogun’s automatic suspension, RBFA wrote to FIFA requesting a copy of the decision, an explanation of the process to date, and a position regarding the applicable regulations,” the statement read.
“In its only response, FIFA wrote to RBFA stating that it considered this action to be an appeal, that a judge had been appointed, and that RBFA had only a few hours to complete its appeal. No information was provided by FIFA.”
“For an appeal to be successful, FIFA’s own rules provide that a reasoned decision must first be communicated to the appellant. The RBFA was only asking for a justifiable explanation, but FIFA itself created the appeal and immediately ensured that it was declared inadmissible.”
“All this happened while FIFA simultaneously refused to comply with RBFA’s legitimate demands.
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“Furthermore, during the match coordination meeting, FIFA deliberately removed the section on the automatic suspension of players from the presentation. Despite this, this topic had been part of all meetings held before each of the previous four matches. RBFA asked FIFA both orally and in writing about the reasons for this change, but once again received no response.”
“To be clear, at this time the RBFA has not received any decision or explanation from FIFA on this matter. Therefore, the RBFA has no choice but to contest the player’s eligibility for the next match.”
“Regardless of the sporting outcome of this match, the RBFA is deeply concerned about the developments and will continue to fight in the hours, days and months ahead to uphold the fundamental principles of ethics, fair competition and the interests of football as a whole.”
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