Belgium thought they caught a massive break. They didn’t. Instead of facing a USMNT stripped of star striker Folarin Balogun for their World Cup Round of 16 clash, the Red Devils got a rude awakening. FIFA stepped in. They wiped away Balogun’s red card suspension. Just like that, the American forward is cleared to play.
It is a bizarre, unprecedented twist. Naturally, the Belgians are absolutely furious.
In a scathing statement released Sunday afternoon, the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) made no effort to hide its disgust. They expressed sheer astonishment at FIFA’s sudden decision to greenlight Balogun for the Monday kickoff in Seattle.
They didn’t just complain. They brought receipts.
The RBFA pointed out a glaring contradiction in FIFA’s own rulebook. While soccer’s governing body used Article 27 of its Disciplinary Code to pause the suspension, Belgium argues this completely ignores Article 66.4. That rule is simple. A red card equals an automatic one-match ban. No exceptions. It applied to every other player in this tournament. Why not Balogun?
Belgium isn’t taking this lying down. They closed their statement with a threat, announcing they are actively exploring all legal and procedural options to fight the decision. They claim they are fighting for fair play.
Will it work? Probably not. FIFA rarely admits to its own madness, and reversing a reversal on the eve of a knockout match is highly unlikely. Still, you can’t blame Belgium for screaming into the void on this one. The optics are terrible.
