Folarin Balogun is in for the U.S.
The American forward was cleared to play in the Round of 16 against Belgium on Monday after an appeal of his red-card reversal by Belgium was denied by FIFA, The Athletic reported.
The FIFA appeals committee deemed Belgium's appeal "inadmissible."
"(Belgium) is not a party to the proceedings and, as such, has no standing to appeal the decision,” a statement from FIFA said, per The Athletic.
Balogun was issued the red card Wednesday for an illegal tackle on a Bosnia-Herzegovina player when the U.S. won in the Round of 32, seemingly ruling the star player out of the ensuing match.
However, FIFA overturned the ruling on Sunday, paving the path for Balogun to play in Seattle.
Earlier Monday, U.S. president Donald Trump claimed credit for the decision, saying he merely pointed out a “horrible” decision in a call with FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
“All I did was ask for a review. I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump told reporters Monday at the White House about lobbying Infantino, a close ally, not to impose a one-game ban on Balogun that is mandatory in soccer laws.
In a statement to The Athletic, the Royal Belgian Football Association said it was open to further action, which could include an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.
"To date, the RBFA has still not received any grounds for this decision, nor has it received the information it has been requesting since the start of this procedure for a copy of the decision and the motivation declaring the player eligible as well as the referee’s report. Which is a breach of FIFA regulations.
"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. This leaves all further actions open."
European soccer body UEFA earlier criticized FIFA for an “incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision,” that it said “crossed a red line” by not enforcing Balogun’s mandatory one-game ban.
FIFA’s ruling Sunday — to defer Balogun's ban for one year of probation — deviated from soccer’s traditional rule of law and drew stinging criticism globally including from former World Cup stars and coaches at this tournament.
“It’s a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad decision that will hurt the World Cup,” Norway coach Ståle Solbakken said Sunday after his team beat Brazil to reach the quarterfinals.
UEFA, whose member federations include Belgium, insisted: “Sometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case not.
“When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined,” said UEFA, which has often clashed with Infantino during his decade in FIFA power.
--with files from The Associated Press
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