The Folarin Balogun red card story gets a new update just hours before the USA vs Belgium game.
Belgium now has the chance to appeal FIFA’s decision to suspend the red card shown to US striker Folarin Balogun—less than a day before the two teams meet in the World Cup last 16. The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) said they’re looking into all their options after FIFA decided to lift Balogun’s red card from the game against Bosnia and Herzegovina, instead giving him a one-year probation.
The New York Times reported that US President Donald Trump had asked FIFA president Gianni Infantino to review the red card. FIFA explained their decision by citing Article 27 of their disciplinary code, which says they can pause punishments and place players on probation for one to four years.
Now, The Athletic says Belgium has been given permission to appeal FIFA’s choice. Both US Soccer—who reportedly didn’t initially appeal, but were encouraged by Trump administration members—and the RBFA have until Monday morning to submit their cases. The match kicks off at 6pm local time (1am UK time).
Belgium hasn’t been promised by FIFA that a decision will come before the game, so it’s unclear if the appeal is just a formality or if it could change things. If the decision is changed again after the match, it could make the situation even trickier.
USA coach Mauricio Pochettino spoke after the red card suspension, praising the decision and calling the original sending off “unfair.” He said, “I don’t see much debate here, though I get Belgium’s side and Rudi [Garcia, their coach] understands why people get mixed up. But for me, the red card wasn’t right.”
He added, “If anyone suffered here, it was the United States. We played around 30 or 35 minutes a player down in a knockout World Cup game—do you think we got any advantage? No, not at all.”
Pochettino also reminded everyone that suspending or delaying punishments isn’t unusual. “This has happened before, so I don’t get why anyone’s surprised. It’s not a one-off for us.”
He was referring to Cristiano Ronaldo’s case, where FIFA had him serve one game of a three-match ban during World Cup qualifiers but suspended the last two, allowing him to play fully in the World Cup.