Washington [US], July 7 (ANI): US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the decision to take suspend the red card issued against US striker Flo Balogun by FIFA was a “right decision”, saying that if a team is playing, they would want their opponents to be at their best so that the victory feels even better and does not get “tainted” without the presence of the best from the other side.
FIFA has dismissed Belgium’s challenge over the eligibility of Folarin Balogun after world football’s governing body suspended the United States forward’s one-match ban ahead of the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 clash between the two sides. Balogun was shown a red card in the 64th minute of the United States’ 2-0 Round of 32 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“It was a bad decision (to give Flo a red card). They shouldn’t even be reviewing these things in slow motion, right? It should be reviewed in live action. I think it was the right decision to reverse it. And if you are Belgium, why would you want to play a game and win a match, and then you win this match, and then everyone will argue you did not really win it because their best player, leading scorer, was not on the pitch during that match. So it is kind of unusual, because generally speaking, I mean, if you are playing, you want the other side to be at its best so that your victory is not tainted in that, in that way,” the Secretary of State said as he stood alongside Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile, Francisco Mackenna.
FIFA announced that the implementation of Balogun’s automatic one-match suspension had been suspended under Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, following an intervention by US president Donald Trump, who urged the organisation to review the case.
Rubio said that he had heard from a lot of people that Balogun’s head was not looking down at his opponent’s leg with an intention to cause damage, and it was not like he knew he stepped on the opponent’s leg.
He also expressed hope that both the US and Belgium will play their Monday’s FIFA WC round of 16 match with a “full strength”. He also hoped that Belgium could move on and if they go on to win, they get to beat a full-strength US side, which will make the victory as sweet as England’s 3-2 win over Mexico at the iconic Azteca in Mexico City to seal the QF spot.
“So I think it was the right decision, obviously there’s a lot of drama around it and so forth, but I think it was the right decision to reverse it because that decision initially, from everyone I have heard, I am not an expert, you know, I do not claim to be an expert on soccer, but from everyone I have heard that knows about this, they all say that that, you know, the guy’s head was not even looking down, it was not like he knew where he was stepping,” he said.
“So look, I… maybe it turned into an international incident, I do not know, maybe we will bring it up at NATO tomorrow or whatever with the Belgians and everybody else, but I just hope the match will go on, everyone will be at full strength, and the winner will be the winner. And if it is Belgium, they have a very good team, you know, they will move on and they can say they beat the US at full strength at home, and that would be a big victory like what you saw the UK do last night, you know, on the road in Mexico, in a very tough environment,” he signed off.
Earlier, the Royal Belgian Football Association (RFBA) expressed its “astonishment” at FIFA’s decision to let Balogun play.
In a statement, they said, “The 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’s case inadmissible and confirms the earlier decision allowing United States player Folarin Balogun to play.”
They also alleged that FIFA did not give them any grounds for the decision, and they have not received the information that they had been requesting all the while. They made serious allegations against FIFA of breaching its own regulations. They are also ready to contest the eligibility of the player if he is listed on the US team sheet, added the statement.
“To date, the RBFA has still not received any grounds for this decision, nor has it received the information it has been requesting since the start of this procedure, i.e., a copy of the decision and the motivation declaring the player eligible as well as the referee’s report. This is a breach of FIFA regulations. 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’s team sheet. This leaves all further actions open,” the statement added.
Earlier, Trump said he spoke to FIFA president Gianni Infantino to “review” the footballer Folarin Balogun’s one-match suspension triggered by a red card, which was later suspended, allowing the forward to feature in Monday’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 encounter against Belgium at Seattle Stadium. (ANI)
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