- UEFA warns of the consequences for sport as a whole.
- Belgium, stunned by ruling on Balogun’s red card.
- Rules in this case not open to interpretation: UEFA.
FIFA “crossed a red line” with the controversial decision to suspend American star Folarin Balogun’s one-match suspension for one year, European football’s governing body UEFA said on Monday.
The FIFA ruling, which came after Donald Trump intervened, allows Balogun to play in the World Cup round of 16 match against Belgium later on Monday.
“Yesterday’s decision to suspend for a one-year trial period the application of the automatic one-match suspension following the red card issued to the player Folarin Balogun crossed a red line,” reads a strong UEFA statement.
“Football, like any other sport, is based on rules, which are the basis of fair, honest and transparent competition. Sometimes the rules are open to interpretation. In this case, no.”
UEFA warned of the consequences for sport as a whole.
“Football is the most loved sport in the world because it is a beautiful game and one that is trusted because it is played everywhere with the same laws,” he said.
“A tournament is never something purely independent and, if the tournament in question is the World Cup, it has the power to generate positive or negative consequences on the game as a whole.
“We express our disbelief at an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision.”
Balogun, who scored three goals at the World Cup, would miss the clash in Seattle after receiving a straight red card following a video review for stepping on the foot of a Bosnia-Herzegovina defender in the round of 32 match that the United States won 2-0.
Under FIFA rules, a straight red card automatically triggers a one-game suspension.
Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to ask him to review Balogun’s punishment, two sources familiar with the matter told AFP.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also publicly called for the card to be rescinded.
The decision to suspend the sanction was made by the FIFA disciplinary committee.
World soccer’s governing body said on Sunday that the ban will now be suspended for a year, in a surprising move for which no specific explanation was offered.
“Thank you to FIFA for doing the right thing and reversing a great injustice!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The Belgians were stunned by the sentence.
“I didn’t know that in the FIFA World Cup July 5 is now April 1 and that it’s April Fool’s Day,” Belgium coach Rudi Garcia told reporters.
