Morning Sports Update
The Royal Belgian Football Association issued a second statement on Monday prior to the Round of 16 World Cup matchup.
Belgian coach Rudi Garcia during his team’s Round of 32 win over Senegal. Alex Grimm/Getty Images
July 6, 2026 | 11:58 AM
4 minutes to read
Belgium is not happy about FIFA’s Folarin Balogun decision: In case you haven’t been following closely, U.S. forward Folarin Balogun, the team’s leading scorer so far in the World Cup, was set to miss the upcoming Round of 16 knockout round matchup against Belgium (tonight at 8 p.m.) after being issued a controversial red card in the Round of 32 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Balogun, 25, was sent off following a video assistant referee (VAR) decision changed what had initially been a non-call into a red card when slow-motion replay revealed that the American forward had caught Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemović with his cleats while the two jostled for position.
While the decision — given that Balogun was not looking at Muharemović when the offense occurred — was deemed harsh by independent analysts of the incident, Balogun himself ultimately took the high road in his comments about the matter.
FIFA, having initially told multiple reporters that there was no means of challenging the red card decision, eventually concluded an unprecedented reversal of the decision. On Sunday, in a shock to the sports world, the announcement came from the soccer governing body that the red card suspension had been withdrawn, and that Balogun would now be able to play against Belgium.
U.S. president Donald Trump was quick to claim credit for the news, having reportedly called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to personally ask for the red card suspension to be reviewed. Trump later told reporters that he just asked for a review, and “didn’t tell [FIFA president Gianni Infantino] what to do.”
In the aftermath, Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia couldn’t help but make a sarcastic April Fools’ Day reference.
“I didn’t know that 5 July was equal to 1 April [April Fools’ Day] at FIFA,” Garcia explained about the Balogun decision. “I think we should refer to the [statement] of my federation, the Belgian federation. I think a lot of things are in it. The federation does not defend itself, it does not defend the national team — it defends football in general. It defends its integrity. It defends its ethics.”
The Royal Belgian Football Association [RBFA] initially issued a statement in direct response to FIFA, noting it was “astonished” at the outcome.
“The Royal Belgian Football Association is astonished by FIFA’s decision to declare suspended United States player Folarin Balogun eligible to play,” it said in a Sunday statement. “In order to safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both at this FIFA World Cup and at future editions of the tournament, the RBFA is investigating all potential options.”
The collective surprise at the decision comes from the fact that it’s the first time FIFA has nullified a World Cup red card suspension since 1962. The apparent subjectivity of the choice to rescind the red card has called the soccer body’s rules system into question (even inviting criticism from disgraced former head of FIFA, Sepp Blatter).
On Monday, the RBFA issued a second statement after it was offered a chance to appeal the red card decision:
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.
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.
For an appeal to be admissible, FIFA’s own regulations state that the reasoned decision must first have been communicated to the appellant. While the RBFA was merely seeking legitimate explanations, FIFA itself created an appeal and immediately ensured that it would be declared inadmissible.
All of this occurred while FIFA simultaneously refused to respond to the RBFA’s legitimate requests.
Furthermore, during the match coordination meeting, FIFA deliberately removed the section concerning the automatic suspension of players from its presentation. This topic had nonetheless been part of all such meetings before each of the previous four matches. The RBFA questioned FIFA, both orally and in writing, about the reasons for this change, yet once again received no response.
To be clear, as of this moment, the RBFA 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.
Regardless of the sporting outcome of this match, the RBFA is deeply concerned 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.
The U.S. and Belgium will play in Seattle at 8 p.m. Monday evening. The winner will move on to the quarterfinals to face either Portugal or Spain on July 10.
More from Boston.com:
Kane, drained: After helping England survive a thrilling 3-2 Round of 16 win over Mexico at the Estadio Azteca, Harry Kane — having just bellowed a celebratory rendition of “Wonderwall” with fans — had no voice left during his postgame interview with the BBC. Oasis songwriter Liam Gallagahher
World Cup on tape delay: Because of the timing of kickoff, a group of English children watched the game from Sunday night on Monday morning.
On this day: In 1933, Major League Baseball held its first All-Star Game. The American League defeated the National League 4-2, with Babe Ruth going 2-for-4 and hitting a characteristically dramatic home run.
Daily highlight: After scoring his team’s first goal against Brazil, Erling Haaland added an emphatic second goal that ultimately made the difference in a memorable 2-1 Norway win in the World Cup Round of 16.
¡¡¡GOLAAAAAZO DE NORUEGA!!! ¿QUIÉN MÁS? ¡¡¡ERLING HAALAND!!!
Doblete del monstruo noruego para estar ELIMINANDO a Brasil de la Copa del Mundo 2026. pic.twitter.com/tVjYCocj94
— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) July 5, 2026
Hayden Bird
Hayden Bird is a sports staff writer for Boston.com, where he has worked since 2016. He covers all things sports in New England.
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