FIFA Tells Belgium to Back Off on Balogun Eligibility Fight. Here’s What Happens Now.

The Belgian soccer federation tried to block Folarin Balogun from playing in Monday night’s World Cup Round of 16 match. FIFA basically told them they had no right to even ask.

The Royal Belgium Football Association appealed FIFA’s decision to clear Balogun for the game at Lumen Field in Seattle. But the world governing body’s Appeal Committee ruled the request was “inadmissible” because Belgium was “not a party to the proceedings and, as such, has no standing to appeal the decision.” Adam Crafton of The Athletic had the report.

The Backstory Nobody’s Shutting Up About

This whole mess started when Balogun got a red card for a challenge on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Tarik Muharemovic in the Round of 32. The initial ruling was a one-match ban. Then things got weird.

President Donald Trump got involved. He said he just asked FIFA President Gianni Infantino to look at the play again. Nothing more, according to him. But FIFA suspended the ban anyway. That’s when Belgium cried foul. And they haven’t stopped.

Balogun has three goals in the tournament. He’s a big reason the USMNT is still alive. So yeah, having him available is a massive deal.

The Belgian federation isn’t going quietly. In a statement, they said they still haven’t received any explanation for FIFA’s decision. No grounds. No referee’s report. Nothing. They called it a breach of FIFA’s own regulations.

Ballot or No Ballot

Here’s where it gets even more interesting. Belgium told U.S. Soccer they still contest Balogun’s eligibility. If his name shows up on the official team sheet, they said they’re keeping “all further actions open.” That sounds like a threat of legal action after the match, but for now the show goes on.

The debate about favoritism isn’t going anywhere. A lot of people think Trump’s call tipped the scales. Others say the red card was soft anyway and FIFA corrected a bad call. Both sides have arguments that make sense.

At the end of the day, the ball drops at 8 p.m. ET. Belgium has to deal with Balogun, whether they like it or not. And they definitely don’t like it.