{"id":3846,"date":"2026-07-06T17:10:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T17:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3846"},"modified":"2026-07-06T17:10:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T17:10:12","slug":"folarin-balogun-cleared-to-play-for-usmnt-as-desperate-belgium-appeal-fails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3846","title":{"rendered":"Folarin Balogun cleared to play for USMNT as desperate Belgium appeal fails"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

SEATTLE \u2014 FIFA\u2019s appeal committee denied Belgium\u2019s appeal of its decision\u00a0on Folarin Balogun\u2019s red card, meaning the U.S. men\u2019s national team star can indeed play against Belgium.<\/p>\n

Read more Wayne Rooney eviscerates FIFA for changing Folarin Balogun\u2019s suspension: \u2018Absolute disgrace\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe request was rendered inadmissible\u00a0on the grounds that the RBFA [Royal Belgian Football Association] is not a party to the proceedings and, as such, has no standing to appeal the decision,\u201d FIFA said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The RBFA, which earlier had released a statement saying it didn\u2019t even intend to appeal, but only to request an explanation, which had been constituted by FIFA as an appeal, released a statement as well saying it told the U.S. Soccer Federation that it will contest Balogun\u2019s availability after the game if he plays.<\/p>\n

Read more Belgium freaks out after FIFA lets US striker Folarin Balogun play in World Cup knockout match<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) has received the decision of the FIFA Appeal Committee, signed by its member Mr Salman Al-Ansari, which declares the RBFA\u2019s case inadmissible and confirms the earlier decision allowing United States player Folarin Balogun to play,\u201d the statement reads.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo date, the RBFA has still not received any grounds for this decision, nor has it received the informatoin it has been requesting since the start of the procedure. \u2026 The RBFA has informed the United States Soccer Federation that it contests the eligibility of the player, should the player be listed on the referee\u2019s team sheet. This leaves all further actions open.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Belgium freaks out after FIFA lets US striker Folarin Balogun play in World Cup knockout match<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Folarin Balogun is cleared to play for the USMNT vs. Belgium in the World Cup Round of 16 after a desperate appeal to FIFA failed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3845,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,75],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer","category-world-cup-2026"],"yoast_head":"\nFolarin Balogun cleared to play for USMNT as desperate Belgium appeal fails - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3846\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Folarin Balogun cleared to play for USMNT as desperate Belgium appeal fails - 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