Belgian Football Federation seeks clarification on decision from FIFA to move America forward Folarin Balogun is world cup Despite receiving a red card in the previous match.
Belgium will play the United States later Monday for a spot in the quarterfinals.
The Belgian federation (RBFA) said: “We have not yet received a decision or explanation from FIFA on this matter. In the circumstances, we have no choice but to contest the player’s eligibility for the next matches.”
He did not say where he intended to appeal FIFA’s decision.
US President Donald Trump Balogun, the star forward for the United States, stepped in for Balogun, but his red card suspension was lifted and he was allowed to play in the game against Belgium.
The Belgian federation said it learned of FIFA’s move through media reports and has written to the governing body requesting a copy of the decision and an explanation of the process.
“In its only response, FIFA wrote to the RBFA stating that it considered this action to be tantamount to an appeal, that a judge had been appointed and that the RBFA had only a few hours to complete the appeal,” it said. “FIFA did not provide any information.
RBFA argued that FIFA regulations state that a reasonable decision must first be communicated to the appellant.
“While the RBFA was only seeking a justifiable explanation, FIFA itself lodged an appeal and immediately ensured that this conduct was declared unacceptable,” the newspaper said. “All this happened while FIFA simultaneously refused to comply with RBFA’s legitimate requests.”
Balogun, the star forward for the U.S. national team, scored three goals in this tournament. received a red card He awkwardly stepped on the right ankle of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Tarik Muharemovic during Wednesday’s 2-0 round of 32 win, earning him an automatic one-match suspension.
FIFA announced on Sunday that it had lifted the suspension for the Round of 16 matches. abnormal movement This drew praise from President Trump and anger from the Belgian team. This appears to be the first time since 1962 that a red card during a World Cup did not result in suspension.
“Regardless of the sporting outcome of this match, the RBFA is deeply concerned about the developments and will continue to fight in the coming hours, days and months to uphold the fundamental principles of ethics, fair competition and the interests of football as a whole,” the Belgian federation added.
FIFA’s decision drew criticism from the European Commission, the European Union’s powerful executive body based in Brussels.
Glenn Micallef, the European Union’s sports commissioner, said: “Decisions about sports rules and sports issues belong to sports organizations, not politicians.”
“Influencing sports decisions undermines sports autonomy,” he wrote in a message to X. “We should instead focus on the real governance challenges facing sport, such as the weaponization of sport for political purposes.”
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