FIFA has granted Belgium the right to appeal its decision to place United States forward Folarin Balogun’s one-match suspension on probation less than 24 hours before the two countries’ World Cup round of 16 clash on Tuesday.
In a surprising move on Sunday, FIFA announced that the 25-year-old would be available for the crucial match after he was shown a straight red card for a foul on defender Tarik Muharemovic during the United States 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in their round of 32.
The decision, which The Athletic reported followed intervention by President Donald Trump, government officials and an extensive legal team, sparked debate in the football community and a strong response from the Belgium football federation, which said it was considering every option.
“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,” the Royal Belgian Football Association said in a statement on Sunday.
According to the media outlet, FIFA has now granted Belgium the right to appeal the decision after the RBFA wrote to the governing body. Both the American and Belgian football federations have been asked to make their submissions by Monday morning.
Meanwhile, FIFA’s action has continued to generate reactions from coaches, administrators and governing bodies, who have decried the suspension of Balogun’s ban.
Speaking after Norway’s 2-1 round of 16 win against Brazil on Sunday, Norway manager Stale Solbakken described the decision as a mistake, stating, “It is a big mistake by FIFA. It is not a great conclusion. He got a red card, and the VAR concluded that it was a red card. That means you are suspended for one game.
“I think what is really bad about that situation is that if the USA beat Belgium, they will always have that extra thing about it.
“The Belgians will be furious. What about the next red card? What happens there? Will some committee take it away? It’s a bad, bad, bad, bad decision that will hurt the World Cup and the United States.”
Belgium coach Rudi Garcia said, “I didn’t know that at the World Cup, as at FIFA, the 5th of July is actually the first of April. It’s April Fools. We’re not defending the national team or federation, we are defending football and integrity.”
In his response, former FIFA president Joseph Blatter raised concerns about Mr Trump’s involvement in setting the ban aside.
“Red cards are not overturned by political phone calls. They are overturned by rules, evidence and independent bodies. If a U.S. president intervenes with the FIFA president—and a player is suddenly cleared before a World Cup knockout match—the question is unavoidable: Quo vadis, FIFA? Football must never become a playground for political power,” Mr Blatter maintained.
UEFA, the European football governing body, said, “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,” UEFA mentioned in a statement on Monday. “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.
It added, “A tournament is never a pure standalone and, if the tournament in question is the World Cup, it has the power to drive positive or negative consequences on the game as a whole. We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision.”
