Belgium presses FIFA for answers over Balogun ban and disciplinary rules

Belgian football federation president Pascale Van Damme renewed her demand for answers about US forward Folarin Balogun’s World Cup suspension at a FIFA Council meeting in Zurich on 15 October. She asked FIFA to explain the circumstances behind the decision and to guarantee that nobody had interfered in the disciplinary process. [2]

Balogun was sent off against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the 2026 World Cup. FIFA says its disciplinary committee suspended his one-match ban for a probationary period of one year, leaving him eligible to face Belgium in the last 16. The red card itself was not overturned. [3] [5]

US President Donald Trump confirmed in July that he had asked FIFA to review the case. FIFA president Gianni Infantino said then that the disciplinary bodies made their decisions independently; according to the Belgian federation, FIFA repeated that assurance at Thursday’s meeting. Trump’s request does not establish that it influenced the committee’s decision. [5] [2]

Van Damme also asked what exceptional circumstances justified applying article 27 of FIFA’s disciplinary rules, what criteria would apply in similar cases, and whether member associations would be heard in future disciplinary decisions. European delegates told the Associated Press that they received no further explanation of the Balogun case at the meeting. [2] [4]

The Belgian federation says FIFA has committed to changing article 27 and will submit a proposal for approval at the next council meeting, scheduled for 16 December in Doha. FIFA’s own account makes a narrower commitment: its legal committee will review disciplinary procedures and give a presentation to the council in December. No rule change has yet been approved, and the federation says FIFA’s administration is to return with an explanation of the circumstances of Balogun’s case. [2] [3]