- The Royal Belgian Football Association slammed FIFA’s decision as astonishing, arguing that World Cup regulations explicitly state direct red cards result in automatic, non-appealable one-match suspensions.
- Mocking the ruling, Belgium coach Rudi Garcia called it an April Fools joke in July.
- The round of 16 knockout clash between the United States and Belgium is scheduled for Monday, July 6 at Seattle Stadium.
Just hours after FIFA took the unprecedented step to freeze United States striker Folarin Balogun’s automatic red-card suspension, the Royal Belgian Football Association fired back with a detailed statement accusing the global governing body of abandoning its own rules and shattering the principles of fair play.
While FIFA utilized Article 27 of its Disciplinary Code to put Balogun on a one-year probation, the Belgians argue that major tournament regulations explicitly override that loophole.
The RBFA pointed directly to Article 66.4 of the Disciplinary Code and Article 10.5 of the official FIFA World Cup 2026 Competition Regulations, both of which state that a direct red card must result in an automatic, non-appealable suspension for the subsequent match.
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Furthermore, the Belgian federation claims FIFA is guilty of sudden selective enforcement, noting that the mandatory nature of red-card bans was explicitly reaffirmed to all countries in a pre-tournament circular on May 12, 2026, and is repeated at every single pre-match briefing.
“In order to safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play,the RBFA is investigating all potential options,” the statement concluded.
Adding fuel to the fire, Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia pulled no punches when asked about the sudden reversal, mocking FIFA’s logic ahead of the knockout.
“I didn’t know that at the World Cup as at FIFA the 5th of July is actually the first of April. It’s April Fools,” a defiant Garcia told reporters. “We’re not defending the national team or federation, we are defending football and integrity.”
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The entire controversy stems from the 64th minute of the USA’s 2–0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday.
Balogun was sent off after landing a foot on the ankle of Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic while battling for a loose ball, a challenge referee Raphael Claus originally let play continue through before upgrading it to a straight red card following a slow-motion VAR review.
Prior to FIFA’s dramatic intervention, the star forward was facing a mandatory one-match ban that would have forced him to sit out the do-or-die Round of 16 showdown against Belgium, leaving the Americans without their top attacking threat.