FIFA has kept Folarin Balogun cleared for Monday's World Cup round-of-16 match against Belgium after ruling that the Royal Belgian Football Association's request for an explanation of his suspended red card was inadmissible. The decision means the United States forward, who has three goals in the tournament, remains available for a match Belgium had tried to disturb before kickoff.
The ruling turned on procedure as much as discipline. FIFA said the RBFA had no grounds to appeal because it was not a party to the proceedings and had no standing to challenge the decision. FIFA also said there were no provisions in the FIFA Disciplinary Code and the Regulations for the FIFA World Cup 26™ that would stop the FIFA Disciplinary Committee from using its discretion under Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code to suspend the one-game ban for one year.
Balogun's case began on Wednesday, when he received a red card for stepping awkwardly on the right ankle of Tarik Muharemovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, triggering an automatic one-game suspension. FIFA later said the appeal body had rendered the RBFA's request inadmissible and confirmed the earlier decision allowing the United States player to take part on Monday. The chairperson of the FIFA Appeal Committee, Neil Eggleston, was not involved in the decision.
Belgium, though, says it still does not have the paperwork it says it needs. The RBFA said it had received the appeal decision signed by its member Salman Al-Ansari, but had still not been given the grounds, the motivation declaring Balogun eligible, or the referee's report. It said it had already informed the United States Soccer Federation that it contests the player's eligibility if he is listed on the referee's team sheet, and said on Monday that it had no choice but to challenge him for the upcoming match.
That leaves the immediate question not whether FIFA has spoken, but whether Belgium will try anything else before Monday's game. Balogun, who had been sitting on a one-match suspension, stays available for the World Cup stage that matters most now, while the RBFA is left arguing that the process itself was flawed and that it still has not been told why the forward was cleared.
