The Belgian football federation wants explanation from FIFA about a decision to let United States forward Folarin Balogun play at the World Cup despite getting a red card in his previous game.
Belgium take on the USMNT later on Monday for a spot in the quarterfinals.
FIFA announced Sunday that the suspension had been lifted for the round-of-6 match, an extraordinary move that triggered praise from U.S. President Donald Trump and outrage from Belgium’s team.
It appeared to be the first time since 1962 that a red card during a World Cup didn’t result in a suspension.
The Belgian federation (RBFA) said it has still not received either “FIFA’s decision or any explanation regarding this matter. In these circumstances, it has no choice but to challenge the player’s eligibility for the upcoming match.”
Read more:Belgium furious at Balogun ban being suspended: It’s April Fools
It did not specify where it intends to appeal FIFA’s decision.
Trump intervened on behalf of star U.S. forward Balogun, whose red-card suspension was lifted in a decision that allowed him to play against Belgium.
On Monday, a U.S. official told ABC News that Trump spoke to Infantino because he wanted to better understand the reason why a red card was given and why there was a suspension.
The official said Trump was told that the appeal process is run by an independent board.
Read more:World Cup Daily recap: Norway, Haaland beat Brazil; Mexico fans try to give England sleepless night
The U.S. government provided additional evidence that was used in the appeal process.
The Belgian federation said it learned through media reports about the FIFA’s move and sent a letter to the governing body requesting a copy of the decision as well as an explanation of the process.
In Monday’s update the RBFA said that FIFA’s regulations state that the reasoned decision must first have been communicated to the appellant.
“Following its previous statement, the RBFA wishes to publicly explain the events of the past few hours.
“After learning through media reports of FIFA’s decision to lift the automatic suspension of player Balogun, the RBFA sent a letter to FIFA requesting a copy of the decision, an explanation of the process that had been followed, and setting out its position regarding the applicable regulations.
“As its only response, FIFA sent a letter to the RBFA stating that it considered this correspondence to constitute an appeal, that a judge had been appointed, and that the RBFA had only a few hours to complete that appeal. No information whatsoever was provided by FIFA.
“For an appeal to be admissible, FIFA’s own regulations state that the reasoned decision must first have been communicated to the appellant. 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.
“Furthermore, during the match coordination meeting, FIFA deliberately removed the section concerning the automatic suspension of players from its presentation. This topic had nonetheless been part of all such meetings before each of the previous four matches. The RBFA questioned FIFA, both orally and in writing, about the reasons for this change, yet once again received no response.
Read more:Jude Bellingham: Thriller World Cup win vs. Mexico ‘best night of my England career’
“To be clear, as of this moment, the RBFA has still not received any decision or any explanation from FIFA regarding this matter. It therefore has no alternative but to challenge the player’s eligibility for the upcoming match.
“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.
–
–
Balogun, the star forward for the U.S. with three goals in the tournament, received a red card for stepping awkwardly on the right ankle of Tarik Muharemović of Bosnia-Herzegovina in a 2-0 round of 32 win on Wednesday, triggering an automatic one-game suspension.
Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.
