Belgium star 'banned' from playing in World Cup clash against Spain by his club

Belgium have been banned from selecting one of their players in the World Cup quarter final against Spain - by the star's club.

After blitzing co-hosts the United States in the round of 16, the Red Devils take on the European champions at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Friday night.

But in a bizarre turn of events, Belgium will be without one of their players because of intervention from his club amid a disagreement over his fitness.

Zeno Debast was included in Rudi Garcia's 26-man squad for the World Cup despite being sidelined with an injury.

The 22-year-old has not featured since May after suffering with a thigh issue and missed the first four games of the tournament.

Debast was included as a substitute for the 4-1 trouncing of the United States in Seattle but did not take to the pitch.

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Belgium had hoped that he would be able to be involved in the latter stages of the competition but his club, Sporting CP are not allowing him to play as they believe he is unfit.

A statement from the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) said: "Zeno Debast will not be available for the quarter-finals. His club, Sporting CP, informed the player that they did not consider him medically fit to play matches. This assessment differs from that of the Red Devils’ medical staff, as well as FIFA’s medical and insurance authorities.

“Zeno is currently training individually under the supervision of the RBFA’s Performance Department.”

Belgium star could be denied World Cup dream after club's disagreement

It means Debast could be denied achieving his dream of playing in a World Cup despite recently expressing optimism of returning to fitness following the group stages.

Speaking after undergoing an MRI scan, he said: Debast said: “Everything is going as planned. I feel good.

“As a player, it is not easy to watch your team train and play without being able to participate.

“But, I am grateful to be here and to be able to work on my return here.”

On social media, Belgium have regularly posted videos of Deblast returning to training, with one clip captioned, 'Back with the team'.

On his Instagram story, Deblast shared a cryptic post - attaching an image of him on the floor with his hands on his head.

Deblast has played 26 times for Belgium, his latest appearance coming in March when he scored against the US in a friendly.

He was included in Belgium's World Cup squad back in 2022 in Qatar but did not make a single appearance.

Deblast joined Sporting CP from Anderlecht in 2024 and has gone on to make 72 appearances for the Portuguese giants.

Belgium are also confirmed to be without Amadou Onana after he ruptured his ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) 21 minutes into the win over the US.

While he will be with the team for the quarter final against Spain, the Aston Villa man will require surgery which will likely put him on the sidelines for a period between six and nine months.