Belgium ask FIFA to explain Balogun reversal

ESPN News Services

Jul 6, 2026, 09:38 AM ET

The Belgian football federation wants an 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 Monday for a spot in the quarterfinals.

FIFA announced Sunday that the suspension had been lifted for the round-of-16 match, an extraordinary move that triggered praise from 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."

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 allows him to play against Belgium.

On Monday, a U.S. official told ABC News that Trump spoke to FIFA president Gianni 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 appeals process is run by an independent board.

The U.S. government provided additional evidence that was used in the appeal process.

The Belgian federation said it learned through media reports about 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 should 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.

"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 and ABC News contributed to this report.