The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) expressed deep astonishment Sunday after FIFA suddenly overturned a one-game red card suspension for United States striker Folarin Balogun.
The decision came ahead of the World Cup round-of-16 match between Belgium and the United States in Seattle on Monday.
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FIFA used its disciplinary framework to delay Balogun's automatic suspension for a probationary period, clearing the 25-year-old forward to play in the critical knockout fixture.
Balogun had been ejected against Bosnia and Herzegovina, which would normally trigger an automatic ban.
RBFA Criticizes Contradiction in Rules
The Belgian federation sharply criticized the decision, pointing out a contradiction within the tournament rules regarding automatic bans for red cards.
"The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) is astonished by FIFA's decision to declare suspended United States player Folarin Balogun eligible to play in the USA–Belgium match on Monday, 6 July at 5:00 p.
m. (Seattle time)," the RBFA stated.
The federation argued that previous dismissals during the tournament consistently resulted in immediate prohibitions under governing regulations.
"FIFA bases its decision on Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.
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This provision states that the FIFA Disciplinary Committee may decide to suspend the enforcement of a previously imposed disciplinary sanction.
However, Article 66.4 of the same FIFA Disciplinary Code clearly provides that a red card (sending-off) automatically results in a suspension for the team's next match, as has been the case for all previous red cards issued during this FIFA World Cup," the RBFA stated.
