Belgian FA 'astonished' by FIFA's decision to lift Balogun's suspension

American striker Folarin Balogun received a red card in the USA's 2-0 win over Bosnia & Herzegovina in the round of 32. Balogun scored his third goal ‌of the World Cup in the 2-0 win but was ‌shown a red card in the second half for planting his boot ‌into the ankle of Bosnia's Tarik Muharemovic.

FIFA unexpectedly lifted Balogun's suspension on Sunday, making him available for the hosts' round-of-16 clash with Belgium. The Belgian FA reacted to the news with a statement published on its website, disputing the decision.

"The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) is astonished by FIFA's decision to declare suspended United States player Folarin Balogun eligible to play in the USA–Belgium match on Monday, 6 July at 5:00 p.m. (Seattle time)," the statement reads.

"FIFA bases its decision on Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. This provision states that the FIFA Disciplinary Committee may decide to suspend the enforcement of a previously imposed disciplinary sanction. However, Article 66.4 of the same FIFA Disciplinary Code clearly provides that a red card (sending-off) automatically results in a suspension for the team's next match, as has been the case for all previous red cards issued during this FIFA World Cup."

It has happened once before that FIFA has overturned a red card in the middle of the tournament, with Brazil's Garrincha getting a suspension lifted at the 1962 World Cup.

Belgium manager Rudi Garcia reacted to the news, saying that he "didn't know the game was played on April Fool's Day rather than July 6th."

'To safeguard the legitimate rights of all teams'

The KBVB continued to dispute the decision in accordance with FIFA laws.

"Furthermore, and irrespective of the above, the decision is in direct contradiction with the provisions of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Competition Regulations, as set out in Article 10.5: 'If a player or team official is sent off as a result of a direct or indirect red card (second caution), they will automatically be suspended from their team's subsequent match. In addition, further sanctions may be imposed.'

"The automatic nature of such a suspension was also explicitly reaffirmed in FIFA World Cup 2026 Circular No. 16, which was distributed to all participating member associations on 12 May 2026. The same rule is reiterated at every FIFA World Cup 2026 Match Coordination Meeting prior to each match and is included in all FIFA World Cup 2026 workshop presentations."

The Belgian FA is investigating whether or not it can take further steps in the matter: "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."

The New York Times reported that the White House called FIFA "to ask Gianni Infantino to review Folarin Balogun’s red card, according to a person familiar with the call who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly about the matter."