BALOGUN STORM Belgium threaten to SUE Fifa after Balogun red card suspended as ‘astonished’ statement released ahead of World Cup tie
BELGIUM have threatened to SUE Fifa after US star Folarin Balogun was sensationally CLEARED to play against them on Monday night despite being sent off against Bosnia.
In an unprecedented move, Fifa announced the automatic ban had been lifted.
Belgium’s FA have slammed the decision to suspend Folarin Balogun’s ban for the USACredit: Getty
Balogun was dismissed against Bosnia and Herzegovina but will be available vs BelgiumCredit: Reuters
US President Donald Trump welcomed the decision, fuelling suspicions that Fifa had bowed to political pressure.
And while a furious Belgian FA did not refer directly to any potential Trump influence, it said: “We are astonished by this decision.
“This decision is in direct contradiction to the provisions of the World Cup 2026 Competition Regulations,
“The automatic nature of such a suspension was also explicitly reaffirmed in World Cup 2026 Circular No. 16, which was distributed to all participating member associations on 12 May 2026.
“The same rule is reiterated at every Match Coordination Meeting prior to each match and all World Cup 2026 workshop presentations.
“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 World Cup and at future editions of the tournament, the Belgian FA is investigating all potential options.”
Balogun faced an automatic one match ban after being dismissed for a poor tackle from behind on Bosnia’s Tarik Muharemovic, whose lower leg buckled horribly under the impact.
The US did not even appeal against the decision – after a VAR intervention – or the automatic suspension.
It is, though, understood that lawyers were working behind the scenes to try to get it overturned.
And in a remarkable and unprecedented decision, which caused widespread outrage, Fifa announced: “The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has imposed a one-match suspension for breaches of articles 14 and 66 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC).
“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.
“If Folarin Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.”
That article of the code states that “the judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure.
“If the person benefiting from a suspended sanction commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked by the judicial body and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.”
Belgium face USA in the last-16 on Tuesday but its FA are now ‘investigating all options’Credit: Reuters
Within minutes of the decision being confirmed by Fifa, Trump posted on his Truth Social account: “Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!”
Uefa have since blasted the bending of the rules, labelling the decision “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable”.
Fifa used the same article to cut Cristiano Ronaldo’s initial three game ban for elbowing Ireland’s Daro O’Shea down to a single match with two suspended.
But the Portuguese superstar still had to miss one game as opposed to the card being confirmed but not the punishment.
And the shock decision was a massive plus for the co-hosts ahead of the game in Seattle.
Former Chelsea star Christian Pulisic said: “I just saw a big smile on his face.
“I got to see him and dap him up after that. Knowing we’re gonna have him around for the game, it helps so much. It’s a big boost.”
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And Crystal Palace defender Chris Richards added: “We weren’t quite sure if it was true or not. A lot of us thought it was AI at first.
“We ultimately found out on social media. It was cool to get confirmation it was true.”
