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Belgian federation 'challenges eligibility' of Balogun before World Cup clash
The Belgian Football Federation (RBFA) said on Monday it had challenged the decision to allow American striker Folarin Balogun to play in the World Cup last-16 match between Belgium and the United States.
On Sunday, football's world governing body FIFA announced its decision to defer Balogun's one-match World Cup suspension, meaning he would be available for his country's clash with Belgium in Seattle on Monday.
US President Donald Trump confirmed on Monday he asked FIFA boss Gianni Infantino to review Balogun's ban, telling reporters at the White House: "I asked for a review because I didn't think it was a foul."
In a statement, the RBFA said it was "deeply concerned by the course of events" and announced it would "continue to fight... in defence of the fundamental principles of ethics, fair competition, and the interests of football as a whole", following the lifting of the red card imposed on Balogun after he received a straight red card during the States' round-of-32 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
However, the federation did not specify which body it intends to refer the matter to.
After "learning through media reports" of the lifting of Balogun's suspension, the RBFA wrote to FIFA to request "a copy of the decision, an explanation of the process that had been followed, and setting out its position regarding the applicable regulations".
"As its only response, FIFA sent a letter to the RBFA stating that it considered this correspondence to constitute an appeal, that a judge had been appointed, and that the RBFA had only a few hours to complete that appeal. No information whatsoever was provided by FIFA," the body added.
Since the federation has "still not received any decision or any explanation from FIFA regarding this matter. It therefore has no alternative but to challenge the player's eligibility for the upcoming match", the statement added, without providing further details on the procedure.
FIFA's rules stipulate the chair of the appeals committee may rule on a dispute alone, but as this is the American Neil Eggleston, he would be obliged to hand over his seat to another member.
A final appeal may then be lodged with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The Belgians had not yet lodged such an appeal, the CAS Secretary-General said, when contacted by AFP on Monday.
Outraged reactions mounted on Monday following FIFA's decision, with Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot describing it as "incomprehensible".
P. O'Kelly--BTZ
