FIFA appeal committee rejects Belgium appeal, allowing Folarin Balogun to play

Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times on Jul 6, 2026

Published in Soccer

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SEATTLE — FIFA has rejected an appeal from the Royal Belgium Football Association over the decision to make U.S. striker Folarin Balogun eligible to play in Monday’s World Cup elimination match in Seattle.

Balogun was given a red card in the second half of last Wednesday’s Round of 16 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina, a penalty that carries with it a ban from a team’s next match. But FIFA’s disciplinary committee announced Sunday morning that “in line with Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, the implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year.”

It was just the second time in tournament history — and the first time since 1962 — that FIFA has allowed a player given a red card to play in his team’s next match. Thirteen red cards have been issued in this summer’s World Cup and Balolgun is the only recipient who has been cleared to play.

Belgium, which will face the U.S. in a round of 16 match at 5 p.m. PDT Monday, said it sent a letter to FIFA about the matter, a letter the RBFA said FIFA considered to be an official appeal. That appeal was denied early Monday, about seven hours before the game was to kick off.

“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,” FIFA wrote in a statement. However that is far from the end of the matter.

Before the decision of the appeal was announced, FIFA President Gianni Infantino issued a statement defending himself and his organization.

President Donald Trump, in comments made from the White House on Monday, said he phoned Infantino about the red card and took credit for getting it overturned.

“Yes, I asked FIFA to review it,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I spoke to a man who is highly respected. I’m the one who got them to do it, not Biden. Biden was asleep.”

The appearance of interference on the part of a the president drew sharp criticism and forced Infantino to issue a lenghty statement of his own defending the process.

“I have see the public comments regarding the decision of the independent FIFA Disciplinary Committee related to the suspension of Folarin Balogun and I would like to reiterate a fundamental principle of FIFA’s government,” he said. “FIFA’s judicial bodies are independent. The operate autonomously, apply the FIFA Disciplinary Code and decide cases based on the applicable regulations and the specific facts before them. Their independence is essential to the credibility and integrity of football, and this must always be respected.

“Yes, I regularly discuss matters related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States, and on this matter, I did receive a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football stakeholders and business executives from around the world. During our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies. That is how FIFA’s system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold.”

Balogun leads the U.S. with three goals and has scored or set up the winning goal in each of the Americans’ three victories in this tournament. The decision to make him eligible for Monday’s game also drew rebuke from UEFA, the governing body for soccer in Europe and the largest, most powerful of FIFA’s six confederations.

“Football, like any other sports, relies on rules, which are the basis for fair, honest and transparent competition,” it said in a news release. “Sometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case not.

“A minimum automatic suspension of one match following a red card is not a discretionary option and does not require the decision of a competent body to be enacted. It is a principle embedded in regulations, which cannot be made subject to exceptions, let alone in the middle of a tournament where several other players have been in the same situation and regularly served their suspension.”

UEFA went to “express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision.”

Former Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp, who managed Germany to the 2014 World Cup title, said he was especially troubled by Trump’s professed influence on FIFA’s decision.

“If that really was the case, then that’s crazy,” he said. “This is our game, not theirs. These two people, who both have no idea about football, should have nothing to do with that.

“That was a red card. There’s no two ways about it.”

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