Belgian Federation Issues New Statement: FIFA Refuses Explanation, We Will Fight

The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) issued a new official statement regarding the Folarin Balogun case. It states that FIFA continues to refuse to explain its decision to allow the American forward to play in the World Cup, despite him receiving a red card in his previous match.

Belgium is set to face the USA later on Monday in a clash for a spot in the quarterfinals.

The Belgian federation stated that they have still not received either “FIFA’s decision nor any explanation on the matter. Under these circumstances, there is no choice but to challenge the player’s eligibility to participate in the upcoming match.”

The federation did not specify where it intends to appeal FIFA’s decision.

US President Donald Trump reportedly intervened on behalf of American star striker Balogun, whose red card suspension was overturned by a decision allowing him to play against Belgium.

The Belgian federation reported that it learned of FIFA’s move through the media and sent a letter to the governing body requesting a copy of the decision, as well as an explanation of the procedure.

“As the sole response, FIFA sent a letter to the RBFA stating that it considered this correspondence an appeal, that a judge had been appointed, and that the RBFA had only a few hours to finalize this appeal,” the statement read. “FIFA provided absolutely no information.”

The RBFA insists that FIFA regulations stipulate that a reasoned decision must first be communicated to the appellant.

“While the RBFA was simply seeking legitimate explanations, FIFA itself created an appeal and immediately ensured it was declared inadmissible,” the statement continued. “All of this happened while FIFA simultaneously refused to respond to the RBFA’s legitimate requests.”

Balogun, the USA’s star striker with three goals in the tournament, received a red card for accidentally stepping on Tarik Muharemovic’s right ankle from Bosnia and Herzegovina in Wednesday’s 2-0 round of 16 victory, triggering an automatic one-match ban.

FIFA announced on Sunday that the suspension for the round of 16 match had been overturned – an extraordinary move that drew praise from Trump and outrage from the Belgian team. This appears to be the first instance since 1962 where a World Cup red card did not result in a suspension.

“Regardless of the sporting outcome of this match, the RBFA is deeply concerned by the turn of events and will continue to fight in the coming hours, days, and months to defend the fundamental principles of ethics, fair competition, and the interests of football as a whole,” the Belgian federation added.