FIFA lifted Folarin Balogun's suspension for the match against Belgium, but he appealed.
The U.S. national team received some good news on Sunday when FIFA lifted Folarin Balogun's one-match suspension, which was handed down after he received a red card during the match against Bosnia. However, this decision may not be final. In fact, Belgium has lodged an appeal with FIFA regarding this decision, an appeal which could be discussed in the next few hours, before the two teams face each other in the round of 16 on Monday. As reported by The Athletic, both the Belgian and US federations were invited to submit documentation relating to the case by 5 am (Pacific time). FIFA's decision to lift Balogun's ban has raised much controversy. The fact that a disciplinary decision is overturned during the tournament is a rather rare occurrence, and the fact that the United States is one of the hosts of the tournament has raised questions about FIFA's "loyalties". Balogun's disqualification had also been the subject of discussion in Europe: UEFA, for example, issued a harsh criticism against the decision to lift the disqualification, declaring that it could not believe that such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision had been taken by FIFA. UEFA said in a statement: "Football, like any other sport, is based on rules, which underpin fair, honest and transparent competition. Sometimes the rules can be subject to interpretation. In this case, this is not the case. An automatic minimum match suspension after a red card is not a discretionary option and does not require the decision of a competent body to be implemented. It is a principle enshrined in the regulations, which cannot be subject to exceptions, let alone in the midst of a tournament in which other players find themselves in the same situation have regularly served their disqualification. When the certainty of the rules is no longer guaranteed by those who protect them, the integrity of the game is at risk and the credibility of a competition is undermined." Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter also criticized FIFA's actions, declaring that "football must never become a playground for political power". Balogun had been sent off in the 64th minute of the match against Bosnia, a match the United States had won 2-0, with Balogun also scoring a goal in the match. The US national team, after Balogun's expulsion, had to play for 30 minutes with one man less. The coach of the US national team, Mauricio Pochettino, defended his team, declaring that they had already been punished enough for having had to play the match with a numerical inferiority. Belgium, for its part, was "astonished" by the decision to lift the ban, therefore appealing to FIFA.
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