Belgium issue scathing second statement on FIFA's suspension of Folarin Balogun ban as saga takes fresh twist

The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) has released a fresh statement, adding further confusion over FIFA’s decision to suspend USA forward Folarin Balogun’s one-match ban for 12 months, allowing him to face the European side in the World Cup round of 16.

Belgium take on co-hosts USA on July 7 amid the backdrop of a dramatic situation involving FIFA, Donald Trump and Balogun.

Balogun, who has provided three goals and as many assists during the tournament, was initially set to serve a one-match ban for the Belgium clash after being sent off for a challenge on Tarik Muharemović during Mauricio Pochettino's side's 2-0 win over Bosnia at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium on July 2.

However, to the dismay of many, FIFA has decided to suspend the ban for 12 months in line with Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.

A statement released by FIFA on Sunday (July 5) 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."

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This prompted US President Trump, who is a close friend of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, to praise the decision via his Truth Social account, writing: "Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right and reversing a great injustice! President DONALD J. TRUMP."

Reports from The Guardian have even suggested that Trump made three calls to FIFA to ensure Balogun was allowed to play against Belgium.

As expected, once the news broke, the RBFA released a statement saying it was "astonished by the decision".

Part of the statement read: "The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) is astonished by FIFA's decision to declare suspended United States player Folarin Balogun eligible to play.

"In order to safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both at this FIFA World Cup and at future editions of the tournament, the RBFA is investigating all potential options."

Belgium release fresh statement slamming FIFA decision

On Monday (July 6), the RBFA submitted an appeal, although it said it had not been provided with any further context regarding the decision in a second statement, which read:

“Following its previous statement, the RBFA wishes to publicly explain the events of the past few hours.

“After learning through media reports of FIFA’s decision to lift the automatic suspension of player Balogun, the RBFA sent a letter to FIFA requesting a copy of the decision, an explanation of the process that had been followed, and setting out its position regarding the applicable regulations.

“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. No information whatsoever was provided by FIFA.

“For an appeal to be admissible, FIFA’s own regulations state that the reasoned decision must first have been 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.

“All of this occurred while FIFA simultaneously refused to respond to the RBFA’s legitimate requests.

“Furthermore, during the match coordination meeting, FIFA deliberately removed the section concerning the automatic suspension of players from its presentation. This topic had nonetheless been part of all such meetings before each of the previous four matches. The RBFA questioned FIFA, both orally and in writing, about the reasons for this change, yet once again 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. It therefore has no alternative but to challenge the player's eligibility for the upcoming match.

“Regardless of the sporting outcome of this match, the RBFA is deeply concerned by the course of events and will continue to fight 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.”

UEFA hits out at FIFA Balogun decision

Earlier on Monday, European football’s governing body UEFA released a statement of its own accusing FIFA of “crossing a red line”, describing the move as “incomprehensible and unjustifiable”.

“Yesterday’s decision to suspend for a probationary period of a year the implementation of the one-match automatic suspension following the red card issued to the player Folarin Balogun crossed a red line,” read UEFA’s statement. “Football, like any other sport, relies on rules, which are the basis for fair, honest and transparent competition. Sometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case, not.

“A minimum automatic suspension of one match following a red card is not a discretionary option and does not require the decision of a competent body to be enacted. It is a principle embedded in regulations, which cannot be made subject to exceptions, let alone in the middle of a tournament where several other players have been in the same situation and duly served their suspension.

“When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined. Equally, such a decision creates a precedent in the ongoing tournament, where similar situations will now require equal treatment, to the detriment of the competition. We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision.”

If the USA beat Belgium in Seattle, they will reach the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 2002.