FIFA has dismissed Belgium’s challenge over the eligibility of Folarin Balogun after world soccer’s governing body decided to suspend his one-game ban ahead of the World Cup round-of-16 game with the United States
Despite being dismissed against Bosnia and Herzegovina, the USMNT striker is available to face Belgium in Seattle on Monday night after an intervention involving U.S. President Donald Trump, government officials, U.S. Soccer and an extensive legal team
Belgium formally objected against that decision saying it had “no alternative but to challenge (Balogun’s) eligibility for the upcoming match”
FIFA’s appeal’s committee, however, has rendered the request submitted by the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) as “inadmissible”. They did so on the grounds that “the RBFA is not a party to the proceedings and, as such, has no standing to appeal the decision,” a statement from FIFA said
In response the RBFA acknowledged receipt of the decision before indicating “further actions” were still open to the federation
A statement read: “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 for 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 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.”
How did we get here?
Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia joked that he wondered if the whole situation was an April Fools prank before pointing to the questions now being raised by many observers about the integrity of FIFA’s competition
“The Belgian federation isn’t just defending itself or the national team; it’s defending football in general — its integrity and its ethics,” Garcia added in a news conference Sunday
“As far as I recall, I think this is the first time in World Cup history that a decision like this has been made. Anyway, I’m the coach, so I’m going to focus on my team and the match — it doesn’t matter who makes up the USA’s starting lineup. What matters to me is the pitch, my team, winning, and reaching the quarterfinals.”
Following The Athletic’s exclusive story, a New York Times report stated that Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino in the wake of Wednesday’s game to ask for a review into Balogun’s suspension
Trump’s role in the suspension being overturned is under scrutiny. (Mandel Ngan / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)
A call did take place
“Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!” Trump posted on Truth Social after the news had broken
Balogun has started in all but one game for the U.S., scoring twice in the team’s opener against Paraguay. He was rested in the dead-rubber final group game against Turkey before returning to score in the first half against Bosnia
Balogun’s U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino defended FIFA’s decision and was adamant justice had been done after a red card he believed should never have been shown
“For me, there isn’t much debate here, though I do understand Belgium’s perspective and Rudi’s point of view,” Pochettino told reporters. “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
“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 benefiting. No, no. There’s no extraordinary gain we’re getting out of all this. I mean, ultimately, we aren’t victims, but we aren’t the villains of this story either.”
