FA releases statement on Jarell Quansah red card appeal after Folarin Balogun saga
The Football Association (FA) has released a statement after it was suggested it may appeal Jarell Quansah’s red card, which he received during England's round of 16 clash against Mexico.
Despite overcoming adversity in a raucous Mexico City Stadium to set up a mouthwatering quarter-final with Norway, Thomas Tuchel’s side’s victory was overshadowed by Quansah’s red card and resulting one-match suspension.
The Bayer Leverkusen defender received his marching orders in the 54th minute of the clash following a high tackle on Jesus Gallardo.
Usually, federations would accept the suspension.
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However, FIFA has suspended the implementation of USA forward Folarin Balogun’s ban for 12 months after he also received a red card in the round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
READ NEXT: Gianni Infantino issues strongly worded statement addressing Folarin Balogun's red card suspension
Balogun was due to sit out the co-hosts’ round of 16 clash with Belgium before Donald Trump contacted FIFA to review the decision.
On Sunday (July 5), FIFA confirmed that Balogun had been cleared to play, citing Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.
A statement released by FIFA read: "In line with Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, the implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year.
"If Folarin Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced, without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement."
The Belgian FA were "astonished" when the news broke and attempted to appeal, while UEFA condemned the call, saying FIFA had "crossed a red line" before describing the decision as "incomprehensible and unjustifiable".
However, the appeal has since been deemed "inadmissible" by FIFA's Appeals Committee, which explained that "the RBFA is not a party to the proceedings and, as such, has no standing to appeal the decision".
FA 'considering options' on Quansah red card appeal
On Monday evening (July 6), it was widely reported that the FA was considering its options in relation to appealing Quansah’s red card.
In a short statement to The Independent, the FA said: "We are considering our options regarding any appeal following Jarell Quansah’s red card in Mexico City last night."
Speaking after his side’s victory over Mexico, Tuchel suggested Quansah did not deserve to be sent off.
"In the game, I never thought that VAR would get involved. In the game, this was not even given as a foul by the referee," the German said.
"Obviously, I also thought it was a hard tackle, but he was happy to let play continue. VAR intervened and made a decision. Then, like always, I just saw the still on the screen.
"When you see a still, then you know that this is... You cannot make decisions on a still in a football match. It's just not possible. And they did it, of course, against us.
"So, Jarell is very upset, of course. It's disappointing, and I'm upset today because we were put at a disadvantage in the match. For me, there wasn't enough for VAR to overturn the decision like they did.
"First of all, to be very clear, it was not the AI in the referee check that formed the opinion that it was a red card. Those are decisions made.
"Who overturns this decision, and when? And based on what? It's just strange to me. We just want enough consistency in the decisions."
Topics: England, FIFA, FIFA World Cup
Luke Davies