The United States of America will have striker Folarin Balogun available for their crucial World Cup knockout match against Belgium following a surprise decision by FIFA.
On Sunday morning, the governing body unexpectedly intervened to suspend the mandatory one-match ban stemming from the forward’s recent red card.
The 25-year-old forward was issued a straight red card during the Americans’ recent victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina following a challenge on defender Tarik Muharemovic.
Under Article 10.5 of FIFA’s tournament regulations, the dismissal automatically carries a mandatory one-game suspension.
Multiple FIFA officials had previously confirmed that national teams are prohibited from formally appealing red cards or the subsequent disciplinary sanctions.
However, the governing body’s judicial committee utilized a rare stipulation within Article 27 of the disciplinary code to circumvent the immediate ban.
The specific regulation allows the committee to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure, effectively placing Balogun on a probationary period for the remainder of the World Cup.
The disciplinary body recently applied the exact same probationary regulation to Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of the global tournament.
