Belgium has obtained the right to appeal against FIFA’s decision to suspend the one-match ban imposed on Folarin Balogun less than 24 hours before their FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match against the United States, according to The Athletic.
The situation arose after FIFA announced that Balogun’s automatic one-match suspension had been suspended under Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, following an intervention by U.S. President Donald Trump, who urged the organisation to review the case.
The Royal Belgian Football Association formally lodged an appeal with FIFA challenging the suspension of Balogun’s ban. FIFA granted Belgium the right to contest the ruling. Both U.S. Soccer and the Belgian federation were instructed to submit their written observations by 5 a.m. PST on Monday.
Belgian officials have expressed frustration over the process, stating that they have not been provided with FIFA’s review decision, which remains unpublished.
The appeal will be heard by a member of FIFA’s Appeals Committee who has no affiliation with either a UEFA or CONCACAF member association, a provision designed to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
Earlier, FIFA announced the suspension of Balogun’s automatic one-match ban under Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.
In its statement, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee said, “By operation of Article 27 FDC, the implementation of the automatic match suspension for USA player Folarin Balogun is suspended for a probationary period of one (1) year”.
