The Belgian FA have followed their first statement after the rescinding of Folarin Balogun’s red card by FIFA at the 2026 World Cup.
The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) has launched a scathing attack on FIFA over its handling of Folarin Balogun’s suspension, accusing world football’s governing body of procedural misconduct and a lack of transparency.
In a strongly worded statement released ahead of Belgium’s upcoming fixture, the RBFA claimed FIFA had wrongly declared its appeal “inadmissible” while failing to provide the federation with the information needed to properly challenge the decision to lift Balogun’s automatic suspension.
According to the Belgian FA, it first contacted FIFA after learning through media reports that Balogun’s automatic suspension had been lifted. “After learning through media reports of FIFA’s decision to lift the automatic suspension of player Balogun, the RBFA sent a letter to FIFA requesting a copy of the decision, an explanation of the process that had been followed, and setting out its position regarding the applicable regulations,” the statement read.
The federation alleged that instead of providing the requested information, FIFA treated the correspondence as a formal appeal.
“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 RBFA further argued that FIFA had failed to follow its own disciplinary procedures.”For an appeal to be admissible, FIFA’s own regulations state that the reasoned decision must first have been communicated to the appellant,” the statement added.
“While the RBFA was merely seeking legitimate explanations, FIFA itself created an appeal and immediately ensured that it would be declared inadmissible.”
Belgium also accused FIFA of deliberately omitting discussion of automatic player suspensions during the official match coordination meeting, claiming the subject had been included before each of the team’s previous four matches.
The federation said it repeatedly sought clarification but received no response from FIFA. The RBFA insisted it has still not received “any decision or any explanation” regarding the matter and concluded that it has “no alternative but to challenge the player’s eligibility for the upcoming match.”
Despite the controversy, the Belgian FA vowed to continue pursuing the case. “Regardless of the sporting outcome of this match, the RBFA is deeply saddened by the course of events and will continue to fight in the coming hours, days and months in defence of the fundamental principles of ethics, fair competition, and the interests of football as a whole.”
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The post Folarin Balogun’s red card: Belgian FA make shocking allegations against FIFA appeared first on NotjustOk.
The Belgian FA have followed their first statement after the rescinding of Folarin Balogun’s red card by FIFA at the 2026 World Cup.
The post Folarin Balogun’s red card: Belgian FA make shocking allegations against FIFA appeared first on NotjustOk. Read More