2026 World Cup: Belgium ‘astonished’ U.S. star Folarin Balogun can play

The Royal Belgian Football Association expressed its displeasure Sunday with FIFA’s decision to suspend the one-game ban for United States striker Folarin Balogun making him eligible to play against Belgium in the FIFA Men’s World Cup round of 16. 

The RBFA issued a statement Sunday afternoon saying it was, “astonished,” by the decision and said that, “in order to safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both at this FIFA World Cup and at future editions of the tournament, the RBFA is investigating all potential options.”

Balogun was initially suspended for Monday’s matchup between the U.S. and Belgium at Seattle Stadium after he was shown a disputed red card in the second half of the round of 32 victory by the Americans over Bosnia-Herzegovina. FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee suspended the one-game ban on Sunday morning, making the leading scorer for the U.S. eligible to play. 

Belgium noted articles within the FIFA Disciplinary Code and FIFA’s competition regulations for the World Cup that stated red cards are supposed to lead to automatic suspension from a team’s next match. 

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“The automatic nature of such a suspension was also explicitly reaffirmed in FIFA World Cup 2026 Circular No. 16, which was distributed to all participating member associations on 12 May 2026. The same rule is reiterated at every FIFA World Cup 2026 Match Coordination Meeting prior to each match and is included in all FIFA World Cup 2026 workshop presentations,” the RBFA wrote in its statement. 

Balogun’s one-match ban being suspended is the first time such action has been taken for any red cards issued during this year’s tournament.