The Royal Belgian Football Association has declared it has “no alternative” but to challenge Folarin Balogun’s eligibility for Tuesday’s World Cup last-16 tie, after FIFA sensationally overturned the USMNT striker’s red card. In a lengthy statement issued on Monday, the RBFA accused world football’s governing body of deliberately preventing it from mounting a proper appeal and of removing the automatic suspension section from a pre-match coordination meeting – a topic that had been part of all such meetings for the previous four matches.
The controversy began when Balogun was sent off during the US’s round of 32 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 1. FIFA subsequently lifted the automatic suspension, allowing the striker to feature against Belgium. The RBFA said it learned of the decision “through media reports” and immediately wrote to FIFA requesting a copy of the decision and an explanation of the process. “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,” the statement read. “No information whatsoever was provided by FIFA.”
“Belgium FA threatens to challenge Folarin Balogun's eligibility after FIFA overturned his red card.”
The association argued that for an appeal to be admissible, FIFA’s own regulations require that the reasoned decision first be 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,” it added. “All of this occurred while FIFA simultaneously refused to respond to the RBFA’s legitimate requests.”
Further anger was directed at the behaviour of FIFA officials during the match coordination meeting, where the section concerning automatic suspensions was “deliberately removed” from the presentation. The RBFA said it questioned FIFA about the change both orally and in writing, but received no response. “To be clear, as of this moment, the RBFA has still not received any decision or any explanation from FIFA regarding this matter,” the statement concluded.
The RBFA pledged to continue fighting “in the coming hours, days and months in defence of the fundamental principles of ethics, fair competition, and the interests of football as a whole”. Despite the threat, Balogun is expected to be available for selection when the US take on Belgium in the last-16 match. FIFA has not yet commented on the RBFA’s claims.