FIFA on Monday dismissed Belgium’s challenge to star U.S. striker Folarin Balogun’s eligibility to play in Monday’s round of 16 contest.

FIFA ruled that a request from the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) for an explanation of Balogun’s suspended red card as “inadmissible,” meaning they have no grounds to appeal the decision.

Balogun remains clear to play against Belgium.

“The FIFA Appeal Committee has rendered a request submitted by the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) as inadmissible in relation to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee’s decision to suspend for one year the match suspension imposed on United States national team player Folarin Balogun following his dismissal for a direct red card during the FIFA World Cup 2026™ match between the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina, played on 1 July 2026 at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium,” FIFA said in a statement on Monday, according to ESPN.

“The chairperson of the FIFA Appeal Committee, Neil Eggleston (from the United States), was not involved in the decision. 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,” the statement continued.

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ESPN shared further:

The Belgian federation (RBFA) put in a request to FIFA on Monday, saying it had still not received “FIFA’s decision or any explanation regarding this matter” and adding that “In these circumstances, it has no choice but to challenge the player’s eligibility for the upcoming match.”

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Monday he discussed the red card suspension reversal of Balogun with U.S. President Donald Trump, and Infantino explained to him that a decision on the matter would be taken by FIFA’s independent judicial bodies.

Trump on Monday took credit for getting FIFA to review the red card, but said he did not demand an outcome.

“All I did was ask for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul. And, you know, again, I’m good at this stuff. I didn’t think it was a foul. I thought it was two great athletes that crashed into each other and got entangled,” Trump said.

“I think they made a really brilliant decision. I think the referee’s call was horrible and nobody talks about that. They talk about the red card like it’s fine, nobody talks the referee’s decision to red card,” he added.

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Reuters has more:

Earlier on Monday, the RBFA said FIFA considered its correspondence requesting information to constitute an appeal and rejected it on technical grounds.

“For an appeal to be admissible, FIFA’s own regulations state that the reasoned ​decision must first have been ​communicated to the appellant,” ⁠the RBFA said.

“While the RBFA was merely seeking legitimate explanations, FIFA itself created an appeal and immediately ensured that it would be declared inadmissible.

“All of this ​occurred while FIFA simultaneously refused to respond to the RBFA’s legitimate requests.”

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The ​RBFA also said ⁠FIFA removed the automatic player suspension section from a pre-match coordination meeting presentation and failed to explain the change despite repeated oral and written requests.

“Regardless of the sporting outcome of this match, the RBFA is deeply ⁠concerned ​by the course of events and will continue to fight in ​the coming hours, days and months in defence of the fundamental principles of ethics, fair competition, and the interests of football ​as a whole,” the RBFA added.

The winner of the Belgium-United States contest will play either Spain or Portugal in the quarterfinals on Friday.

 

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