Falorin Balogun will play in the World Cup match between Belgium and the United States on Monday night.
The star striker for the US Men’s National Team was expected to serve a one-game suspension after receiving a red card following in a match against Bosnia and Herzegovina last week. The U.S. successfully appealed that decision and FIFA placed Balogun under a one-year probation rather than requiring him to sit out the next match.
The reversal marked the first time that FIFA had changed course on a red card issued during the tournament in over 50 years. As the nearly unprecedented move favored the current World Cup co-host, claims of favoritism and corruption were loud and immediate. The governing body of Belgian football appealed the decision to allow Balogun to play. FIFA rejected that appeal on Monday, saying in essence that Balogun’s punishment was none of Belgium’s business.
FIFA called the Royal Belgian Football Association’s appeal “inadmissible” because they were not “not a party to the proceedings.”
“[The RBFA] has no standing to appeal the decision,” the World Cup governing body shared in a statement.
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Sensing an easy win, Donald Trump waded into the controversy after the fact. The president and recipient of FIFA’s inaugural Peace Prize said he’d asked FIFA leadership to reconsider the red card. In his noncommittal, weaving way, Trump gave himself credit for the decision even as he avoided insinuations that he’d pressured FIFA into tossing out the suspension.
“It’s one thing to penalize somebody for the game. But how do you penalize him for a game that hasn’t been played yet? You can’t do that,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday. “So yes, I asked for a review.”
Trump called the referee’s ruling “unfair,” but insisted that he didn’t put his thumb on the scale for the USMNT.
“All I did was ask for a review,” he said. “I didn’t say you have to do this.”
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