The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) has said it is “astonished” by FIFA’s decision to suspend the straight red card awarded to USA player, Folarin Balogun, so that he can be eligible to play in today’s Last 16 fixture.
The 25-year-old striker with Nigerian ancestry was shown a straight red card for a foul on Bosnia-Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic as the co-hosts won their last-32 tie 2-0.
However, FIFA announced yesterday that the automatic one-match ban on Folarin will be suspended for a year.
But the Belgian football authorities insisting yesterday that it was “investigating all potential options” in response to the FIFA announcement.
FIFA said in the statement that ; “In line with article 27 of the FIFA disciplinary code, the implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year.”
“If Folarin Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.”
In appreciation of the decision to suspend the punishment for the red card, US President Donald Trump thanked FIFA for “reversing a great injustice” in a post on Truth Social.
Trump, a friend of FIFA President Gianni Infantino, wrote: “Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”