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FIFA has swiftly rejected an appeal from Belgium's soccer federation (RFBA) over Folarin Balogun's red card suspension, saying that the federation was "not a party to the proceedings."There has been a growing firestorm over FIFA's last-minute decision to allow U.S. forward Balogun to play in Monday's World Cup round of 16 match against Belgium, following his red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina.The controversy has ratcheted up after the revelation that U.S. President Donald Trump contacted FIFA president Gianni Infantino directly in an effort to overturn the decision. Trump himself said as much on Monday."All I did, I asked for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul," Trump told reporters on July 6 in the Oval Office.The RFBA said on Sunday it was "astonished" by FIFA’s decision to suspend Balogun's ban, rather that enforcing its usual punishment of an automatic one-game suspension.Though the federation filed a last-ditch appeal to reverse the reversal, FIFA announced around seven hours before kickoff on Monday that Belgium didn't have standing to challenge the decision."The FIFA Appeal Committee has rendered a request submitted by the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) as inadmissible in relation to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee’s decision to suspend for one year the match suspension imposed on United States national-team player Folarin Balogun following his dismissal for a direct red card during the FIFA World Cup 2026 match between the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina, played on 1 July 2026 at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium," a FIFA statement read."The chairperson of the FIFA Appeal Committee, Neil Eggleston (from the United States), was not involved in the decision. The request was rendered inadmissible on the grounds that the RBFA is not a party to the proceedings and, as such, has no standing to appeal the decision."In response to FIFA's rejection of its appeal, the RBFA said in a statement that it "contests the eligibility" of Balogun, and would be exploring its options should the striker play on Monday.“The RBFA has informed the United States Soccer Federation that it contests the eligibility of the player, should the player be listed on the referee's team sheet," it said. "This leaves all further actions open.”Balogun is set to start for the U.S. as it looks to reach a World Cup quarterfinal for only the second time in its history.The striker has been one of his team's top players at this tournament, leading the team in goals with three in four games.
