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 to that decision, saying it had “no alternative but to challenge (Balogun’s) eligibility for the upcoming match”.
FIFA’s appeal 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.”
US Soccer has been approached for comment by The Athletic.
How did we get here?
Balogun was sent off after a challenge on Bosnia defender Tarik Muharemovic during the first half of the U.S.’s 2-0 round-of-32 win on Wednesday. He was initially not booked before referee Raphael Claus was sent to review the incident on the pitchside monitor and ultimately reversed his call and dismissed him.
Red cards at the 2026 World Cup come with an automatic one-game suspension. There is no mechanism for teams to appeal with an independent panel holding the power to increase sanctions should it see fit.
On Sunday The Athletic revealed that FIFA had decided to suspend Balogun’s ban for the period of one year, citing Article 27 of its disciplinary code, with questions subsequently being raised by many observers about the integrity of the competition.
Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia, whose team face the U.S. on Monday, joked that he wondered if the whole situation was an April Fools prank.
“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.
A source familiar with the situation confirmed to The Athletic that 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.”
