Folarin Balogun red card saga takes fresh twist hours ahead of USA vs Belgium

Belgium have been granted a right of appeal over FIFA's decision to suspend a red card awarded to United States striker Folarin Balogun - under 24 hours before the two nations face each other in the World Cup last 16.

The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) announced they were 'investigating all potential opposition' after FIFA decided to suspend the red card Balogun received against Bosnia and Herzegovina and instead issue him with a one-year probationary period.

The New York Times reported that US President Donald Trump had asked FIFA president Gianni Infantino to review the red card given to Balogun.

FIFA pointed to Article 27 of its disciplinary code when explaining why their decision was changed, with the Article stating that they 'may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure' while imposing a 'probationary period of one to four years' on the player.

Now, The Athletic have reported that Belgium have been granted a right of appeal against FIFA's decision.

Submissions by both US Soccer - who did not originally appeal the sanction, it was reported, before being approached by members of Trump administration officials - and the RBFA must be made by Monday morning, it is claimed.

The kick-off time for the match is at 6pm local (1am UK).

It is reported that Belgium 'have not been provided with any guarantees by FIFA' that a decision will be made before the match, and it is unclear whether the appeal is 'merely procedural' or not.

If their stance was changed for a second time but only after the last 16 match, it would add another layer of complexity to the situation.

Speaking at a press conference shortly after the suspension of Balogun's red card, USA boss Mauricio Pochettino praised the decision and described the initial call to send Balogun off as 'unfair'.

"For me, there isn't much debate here, though I do understand Belgium's perspective and Rudi [Garcia, manager]'s point of view," he stated.

"I understand why people conflate issues. People always do, because there's often an agenda to mix things up. But in this case, I don't think it's right [the initial red card].

"If anyone was harmed in this whole situation, it was the United States. Can anyone justify the idea that we weren't punished. I mean, playing 30 or 35 minutes a man down, in a World Cup knockout match? It's not as if we're benefitting. No, no. There's no extraordinary gain we're getting out of all this.

"And there are precedents where sanctions have been suspended or deferred. That's why I don't understand why anyone would be surprised; this has happened before. It's not as if this is some extraordinary event that only happens to us. We've seen it happen previously."

The precedent Pochettino refers to involves Cristiano Ronaldo, who received a three-match ban from FIFA-sanctioned international competitions before the final match of World Cup qualifying.

In that case, FIFA suspended the final two games of Ronaldo's ban, enabling him to play a full part in Portugal's World Cup campaign. He served his one-match ban in Portugal's final World Cup qualifying match.