USA star Folarin Balogun has been cleared to play in the team’s crucial World Cup round of 16 game after FIFA rejected an appeal launched by the Belgian FA.
The World Cup descended into farce on Sunday after it emerged Donald Trump personally called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to review the one-match ban handed to USA striker Balogun following a red card during their win over Bosnia on July 1.
The shock ruling served as a major boost to the USMNT, as it allows star striker Balogun to be available for selection for their clash against Belgium on Monday night.
Moments after Sunday’s announcement, President Trump, who has become close friends with Infantino, wrote: ‘Thank you to Fifa for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice! President DONALD J. TRUMP.’
White House sources confirmed to the Daily Mail that Trump took the extraordinary step of reaching out to Infantino, ahead of FIFA’s staggering decision to suspend the ban, before the President confirmed the news himself on Monday.
However, while Trump and millions of USA fans across the country celebrated the one-game ban suspension, the Belgian FA were left furious over the matter and launched an appeal to FIFA, shortly after the news was announced.
The Belgian FA released a furious statement lamenting FIFA’s decision to suspend the ban
The forward, who was sent off for this tackle, will now be available to face Belgium on Monday
Donald Trump called FIFA chief Gianni Infantino to ask him to suspend the one-match ban
On Monday, they discovered the fate of that appeal after it was confirmed that the Belgian FA’s appeal had been rejected by FIFA.
In a statement, the Belgian FA said: ‘The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) has received the decision of the FIFA Appeal Committee, signed by its member Mr Salman Al-Ansari, which declares the RBFA’s case inadmissible and confirms the earlier decision allowing United States player Folarin Balogun to play.
‘To date, the RBFA has still not received any grounds for this decision, nor has it received the information it has been requesting since the start of this procedure id est a copy of the decision and the motivation declaring the player eligible as well as the referee’s report. Which is a breach of FIFA regulations.
They added that: ‘The RBFA has informed the United States Soccer Federation that it contests the eligibility of the player, should the player be listed on the referee’s team sheet. This leaves all further actions open.’
Following Trump’s admission that he had called up Infantino over the matter, FIFA chief Infantino offered clarity over the matter through another statement on Monday.
He said: ‘I have seen the public comments regarding the decision of the independent FIFA Disciplinary Committee related to the suspension of Folarin Balogun, and I would like to reiterate a fundamental principle of FIFA’s governance.
‘FIFA’s judicial bodies are independent. They operate autonomously, apply the FIFA Disciplinary Code, and decide cases based on the applicable regulations and the specific facts before them. Their independence is essential to the credibility and integrity of football, and this must always be respected.
‘Yes, I regularly discuss matters related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States, and on this matter, I did receive a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football stakeholders and business executives from around the world on many different issues.
FIFA confirmed they suspended the one-game ban handed to USA striker Balogun on Sunday
‘During our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies. That is how FIFA’s system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold.’
Hours before FIFA had reached their verdict on the appeal, the Belgian FA accused FIFA of deliberately ensuring its appeal against the suspension of Balogun’s red card was inadmissible.
In a statement, they said: ‘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.
‘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.
Trump later thanked Infantino and the FIFA organisation for ‘reversing a great injustice’
The decision to show Balogun a straight red card sparked widespread fury on social media
‘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.’
Prior to the statement released on Monday, the Belgian FA had put out another scathing assessment of FIFA’s ‘astonishing decision’.
‘In order to safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both at this FIFA World Cup and at future editions of the tournament, the RBFA is investigating all potential options.’
Pascale Van Damme, the Belgian FA president who is a member of the Fifa Council, is understood to have flown in to Seattle on Sunday amid ongoing discussions on the matter.
Meanwhile, Belgium boss Rudi Garcia offered a brutal assessment on the matter during a press conference later in the day.
He said: ‘I didn’t know that at the World Cup the 5th July is now April 1st and is now April Fool’s Day…
‘We are defending football – its ethics and history. It’s the first time in WC history that such a decision has been taken…’
When asked about allegations that Trump influenced FIFA’s decision, Garcia added: ‘Don’t waste your time talking about that… if you have any football questions we will answer that but for the rest please go to the [FA].’
FIFA are yet to respond to the Belgian FA’s statement. It’s understood Belgium are considering taking legal action and referring the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Balogun, 25, was sent off during the USA’s victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday following a challenge on defender Tarik Muharemovic.
Though it initially appeared to be a fairly innocuous tackle, replays showed that the striker did appear to scrape his cleats down his rival’s leg. However, the decision still sparked widespread fury online, with many fans calling to overturn the suspension.
On Sunday morning, their wish was granted after FIFA confirmed the suspension.
In their own statement, FIFA said: ‘In line with article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, the implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year.
‘If Folarin Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.’
In response, the USMNT said: ‘We accept the decision of the Disciplinary Committee and are pleased that Folarin Balogun is eligible to compete tomorrow.
‘Our full attention is focused on the Round of 16 match against Belgium in Seattle, and we look forward to the continued support of our amazing fans.’
The Daily Mail understands that the USMNT were informed about the decision on Sunday morning. However, the squad were not told straight away and later found out through social media.
