Belgian Federation says it is stunned by Balogun's suspension

The Belgian Federation reacted with surprise to the decision that released striker Folarin Balogun for the clash between the United States and Belgium, in the round of 16 of the World Cup.

The player had been sent off in the victory over Bosnia in the previous phase of the tournament.

The release was confirmed by FIFA this Sunday (5). In a statement, the entity informed that the athlete's automatic suspension was lifted based on article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.

See the full statement
"The Royal Belgian Football Federation (RBFA) is stunned 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 5pm (Seattle time). 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 execution of a previously imposed disciplinary sanction.

However, Article 66.4 of the same FIFA Disciplinary Code clearly states that a red card (expulsion) automatically results in a suspension for the team's next match, as has been the case with all previous red cards issued during this FIFA World Cup.

Furthermore, regardless of the above, the decision is in direct contradiction to the provisions of the 2026 FIFA World Cup 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 yellow card), he will be automatically suspended from his team's subsequent match. In addition, additional sanctions may be imposed."

The automatic nature of such 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 all 2026 FIFA World Cup Match Coordination Meetings before each match and is included in all 2026 FIFA World Cup workshop presentations.

To safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both at this FIFA World Cup and in future editions of the tournament, the RBFA is investigating all potential options."

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Source: CNN