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FIFA has rejected Belgium’s appeal over the decision to suspend the one-match suspension of American World Cup star Folarin Balogun for a red card in a round of 16 match against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
FIFA’s appeal committee released a statement hours before kickoff between the United States and Belgium.
“The FIFA Appeal Committee has declared inadmissible a request submitted by the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) regarding the decision of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee to suspend for one year the match suspension imposed on US national team player Folarin Balogun following his exclusion for a direct red card during the 2026 FIFA World Cup match between the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina, played on July 1, 2026 at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium,” FIFA said. “The chairman of the FIFA Appeal Committee, Neil Eggleston (of the United States), was not involved in the decision.
“The request was declared inadmissible on the grounds that URBSFA is not a party to the proceedings and therefore does not have standing to appeal this decision.”
The URBSFA responded after the decision was made.
“To date, the URBSFA has still not received the reasons for this decision, nor the information it has requested since the start of this procedure, namely a copy of the decision and the motivation declaring the player eligible as well as the referee’s report. Which constitutes an infringement of FIFA regulations,” indicated the federation.
“The URBSFA has informed the U.S. Soccer Federation that it is contesting the player’s eligibility if he appears on the referee’s team sheet. This leaves all other actions open.”
This is breaking news. Check back for updates.
