FIFA rejected Belgium’s last-ditch appeal to keep United States striker Folarin Balogun sidelined, clearing the way for the World Cup star to be eligible ahead of the Americans’ Round of 16 showdown with Belgium.
The decision came just hours before kickoff after the Royal Belgian Football Association challenged FIFA’s move to suspend Balogun’s one-match ban following his straight red card in the United States’ Round of 32 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In a statement, FIFA said the appeal could not move forward because Belgium was not entitled to challenge the disciplinary ruling.
“The FIFA Appeal Committee has rendered a request submitted by the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) as inadmissible in relation to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee’s decision to suspend for one year the match suspension imposed on United States national-team player Folarin Balogun following his dismissal for a direct red card during the FIFA World Cup 2026 match between the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina, played on 1 July 2026 at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium,” FIFA said. “The chairperson of the FIFA Appeal Committee, Neil Eggleston (from the United States), was not involved in the decision.
Folarin Balogun (Wiki Commons)
“The request was rendered inadmissible on the grounds that the RBFA is not a party to the proceedings and, as such, has no standing to appeal the decision.”
The Royal Belgian Football Association blasted the ruling, saying FIFA had failed to provide the documents it requested throughout the process.
“To date, the RBFA has still not received any grounds for this decision, nor has it received the information it has been requesting since the start of this procedure id est a copy of the decision and the motivation declaring the player eligible as well as the referee’s report. Which is a breach of FIFA regulations,” the federation said.
“The RBFA has informed the United States Soccer Federation that it contests the eligibility of the player, should the player be listed on the referee’s team sheet. This leaves all further actions open.”
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