'Astonished' Belgium Appeals Folarin Balogun Red-Card Ruling by FIFA Ahead of USMNT World Cup Match

The Royal Belgian Football Association clarified its position on the playing status of United States men's national team striker Folarin Balogun and said it will "challenge the player's eligibility for the upcoming match."

Balogun received a red card in the USMNT's 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, but FIFA took the step of suspending his one-match ban. As a result, he's provisionally allowed to play Monday against Belgium in the round of 16.

The RBFA originally said it was "astonished" by the decision given it contradicts guidelines laid out by FIFA and World Cup organizers.

The federation followed up Monday to provide an account of what has happened behind the scenes from its side, saying it wrote to FIFA asking for details on the process behind suspending the ban and what next steps are potentially available:

"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."

The New York Post's Mark Cannizzaro reported FIFA's reversal came after U.S. Soccer pondered taking its case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The federation based its argument on the idea that match officials incorrectly used video review before the referee issued a red card to Balogun.

Cannizzaro echoed earlier reporting about a phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and FIFA president Gianni Infantino about overturning Balogun's suspension. Per the Post, FIFA's disciplinary committee was already evaluating the situation before the call occurred.

United States coach Mauricio Pochettino, who didn't agree with the referee's original decision, supported FIFA's retrospective action.

Understandably, the reaction is much different across the Atlantic.

After the Belgium FA weighed in, UEFA provided its own statement and said FIFA "crossed a red line" with its intervention and called it "an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision."

"When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined," the organization said. "Equally, such decision creates a precedent in the ongoing tournament, where similar situations will now require an equal treatment, to the detriment of the competition."

The clock is ticking with the United States and Belgium scheduled to kick off their match at 8 p.m. ET in Seattle.

Balogun's absence or presence will be a big deal either way. His three goals are the most of any U.S. player at the World Cup so far.