Folarin Balogun red card saga not over yet as Belgium granted right to appeal with deadline set

Belgium has been granted the right to appeal FIFA’s decision to suspend Folarin Balogun’s one-game ban, hours out from their Last 16 game against the United States.

Balogun was sent off in a controversial VAR decision in the UMSNT’s World Cup Round of 32 clash with Bosnia and Herzegovina last week, but was later cleared to play after Donald Trump called Gianni Infantino to ask for the suspension to be reviewed.

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In a statement shared Sunday, the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) said it was ‘astonished’ by the move to suspend the ban, and was ‘investigating all potential options’.

The Belgian federation will now formally write to FIFA to appeal the matter, and reserve the right to also lodge an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), talkSPORT understands.

The right to appeal has been granted, with both US Soccer and the Belgian federation asked to make submissions by 5am PT (1pm BST) on Monday morning, ahead of the game in Seattle, scheduled to kick-off at 5pm PT (1am BST).

According to The Athletic, the timeline has ‘exasperated’ the RBFA, who have not received the decision by FIFA to review, as it is not made public.

A ruling is possible before the game, but Belgium have not been provided with any guarantees at this stage.

Should FIFA change their stance once again, it would mark another extraordinary turn of events.

Balogun had been dismissed during the second half of the USMNT’s 2-0 victory over Bosnia on Wednesday night for a foul on Tarik Muharemovic.

While his challenge did not appear intentional, and went unpunished at first, it looked ugly in VAR replays.

The striker was shown a straight red card after review, and the slow-motion replays used in the decision are said to have been met with objection by the Trump administration.

Balogun was under a one game ban from Wednesday night until Sunday morning, when FIFA first confirmed their decision.

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FIFA sources insisted that US Soccer had no appeal, and they did not attempt one as a result — before Trump opted to intervene.

The US president is said to have called the punishment inflicted on Balogun ‘excessive.’

Gianni Infantino’s position ‘untenable’ after Folarin Balogun saga

The decision to suspended Balogun’s ban has been much-debated in the hours since, and Jeff Stelling told talkSPORT Breakfast that Infantino should resign over the saga.

“It’s an absolute disgrace,” Stelling said.

“People are missing the point when they say, ‘It may not have been a red card’. That’s irrelevant. It’s how the authorities have gone about this.

“Gianni Infantino needs to resign. He needs to resign today. He’s the man who came up with the great idea of the FIFA Peace Prize and gave it to his mate, Donald Trump.

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“And of course his mate is the one who then tries to influence this decision and have this suspension overturned.

“His position is untenable. The smell of corruption allegations is particularly unpleasant. I mean, he lacks self-awareness, for goodness sake.

“He wants to be in the middle of every single shot of Champions League winners. Who’s that in the middle? It’s Gianni Infantino.”

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter also weighed in on the Balogun saga Monday morning, and insisted football must not become a ‘playground for political power’.

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“Red cards are not overturned by political phone calls. They are overturned by rules, evidence and independent bodies,” Blatter wrote on X.

“If a US president intervenes with the FIFA president — and a player is suddenly cleared before a World Cup knockout match — the question is unavoidable: Quo vadis, FIFA?

“Football must never become a playground for political power.”

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