FIFA has ruled a request from the Belgium football federation for an explanation of Folarin Balogun’s suspended red card as “inadmissible,” meaning they have no grounds to appeal the decision and the United States forward remains cleared to play against them in Monday’s World Cup round-of-16 match.
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.
“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.”
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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 on Monday he discussed the red card suspension reversal of Balogun with U.S. President Donald Trump, and he explained to the U.S. president 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.
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“All I did was ask for a review,” Trump said when asked about it during an unrelated Oval Office event. “I didn’t say, ‘You have to do this.'”
Information from The Associated Press and ABC News contributed to this report.
