Belgian soccer officials on Monday were granted the right to appeal the ruling that resulted in USMNT’s ace Folarin Balogun’s ban being overturned – hours before the two nations clash in Seattle.
Bosses of the European federation wrote to FIFA chiefs, saying they were “astonished” by the dramatic decision, and the right to appeal has now been given the green light, anonymous sources told the Athletic.
It now means a member of the FIFA appeals committee – who is not part of UEFA or CONCACAF – will now hear Belgium’s case.
Belgium and US Soccer bosses were ordered to make submissions by 5 a.m. PST Monday ahead of the appeal being heard.
It’s possible a ruling could be made before the last 16 game kicks off – but Belgian soccer authorities have reportedly not been given any guarantees.
It’s not known if the outcome of the appeal will result in Balogun’s ban being re-imposed.
Balogun, 25, was given a red card during USMNT 2-0 win over Bosnia for what video assistant referees ruled as serious foul play.
The referee on the field initially didn’t blow his whistle for a foul on Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemović but was ordered to review the challenge on a monitor.
The decision was highly controversial due to the use of slow motion, which made the foul look far worse than it did in real time, as well as that Balogun didn’t appear to have any intent; rather, he didn’t seem to have another place to put his foot.
US Soccer claimed the VAR process was incorrectly applied, a source told The Post’s Mark Cannizzaro.
“A legal appeal was sent to FIFA,’’ the source said. “They wanted to avoid CAS. The CAS legal was ready to go.’’
Trump specifically reached out to FIFA chief Gianni Infantino after the match on Wednesday, a US government official said.
Though the appeal process is run by an independent board, the US government interjected and provided “additional evidence” used in the appeal process, the source said.
“Ultimately, the correct and proper outcome was achieved,” the official said.
The Trump administration supposedly challenged the use of slow-motion instant replay that gave Balogun his red card, arguing it violated FIFA’s rules, sources told OutKick founder Clay Travis.
FIFA cited Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, which states that the “judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure.”
It also states that by “suspending the implementation of the sanction, the judicial body subjects the person sanctioned to a probationary period of one to four years.”
Trump took to Truth Social to hail FIFA’s decision after the news was announced.
“Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right and reversing a great injustice,” the president, who has developed an incredibly close relationship with Infantino leading up to the World Cup, wrote.
It was the first time since 1962 that FIFA had reversed a suspension.
“I didn’t know that at the World Cup, the 5th of July is actually the first of April – it’s April Fools’ [Day],” Belgium’s stunned head coach Rudi Garcia told reporters.
Norway coach Ståle Solbakken, who coached his team to a 2-1 win over Brazil, said the decision to overturn Balogun’s ban was “a big mistake by FIFA.”
“He has got a red card, VAR concluded it was a red card, and he was sent off, so that means he is suspended for one game,” he said.
