FIFA's Decision Sparks Protests in Belgium, Balogun Cleared to Play in the 2026 World Cup Round of 16

The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) has submitted an official protest to FIFA after the world football governing body's Disciplinary Committee suspended the enforcement of a one-match playing ban against United States forward Folarin Balogun.

This FIFA ruling means Balogun remains eligible to represent the United States for their 2026 World Cup Round of 16 fixture against Belgium at Lumen Field, Seattle, scheduled for Tuesday 7 July at 07.00 WIB.

In a statement published on its official website on Monday 6 July at 17.00 Seattle local time, the RBFA stated it was shocked by the decision. The Belgian federation maintains that Balogun should have served the automatic suspension after receiving a straight red card during the Round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"The RBFA is astonished by FIFA's decision confirming that United States player Folarin Balogun is eligible to feature in the match between the United States and Belgium," the RBFA official statement read.

According to the Belgian delegation, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee ruling contradicts Article 66.4 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, which specifies that any player receiving a straight red card automatically receives a mandatory one-match suspension.

The RBFA also referenced Article 10.5 of the 2026 World Cup Competition Regulations, which requires both players and match officials who receive a straight red card, or a red card via accumulated yellow cards, to serve their suspension in the immediate next match.

The federation emphasised that this provision has been applied consistently throughout the entire 2026 World Cup tournament, and has been formally communicated to all participating teams during official match coordination meetings and FIFA sanctioned pre-tournament workshops.

For its part, FIFA based its ruling on Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, which grants the Disciplinary Committee authority to suspend enforcement of disciplinary sanctions under defined conditions. Balogun's ban was not cancelled entirely, it is only suspended for a one year probation period. Should he commit any further qualifying disciplinary offence within this period, the suspended sanction may be activated and applied alongside any new penalty.

Following this decision, the RBFA confirmed it is currently reviewing all possible legal and procedural courses of action available.

"In order to protect the legitimate rights of all participating teams and uphold the fundamental principle of fair play in this sport, for this World Cup and all future editions, the RBFA is examining every available option," the federation stated.

This controversy originated when Balogun was shown a straight red card in the 64th minute of the United States' 2-0 Round of 32 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina. The match referee initially issued a yellow card before upgrading the decision to red after reviewing VAR footage of the foul against Bosnia and Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic.

The France Ligue 1 AS Monaco forward had originally been formally ruled out of the Belgium fixture, before the FIFA Disciplinary Committee's suspension decision cleared him to appear in the Round of 16 match.