The USA have received a massive boost after striker Folarin Balogun was given the green light to play in their round of 16 match against Belgium following the suspension of his one-game ban.
The 25-year-old is the leading scorer for the USA with three goals. He scored the opener in the 2-0 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina last Wednesday.
However, he was later controversially sent off in that game for a foul on Tarik Muharemovic, triggering an automatic one-game suspension under FIFA World Cup rules.
A red card or suspension in the tournament cannot be appealed. FIFA, however, posted this message to its website Sunday: “By operation of Article 27 FDC, the implementation of the automatic match suspension for USA player Folarin Balogun is suspended for a probationary period of one year.”
US Soccer issued its own statement in response to the action: “We accept thedecision of the Disciplinary Committee and are pleased that Folarin Balogun is eligible to compete tomorrow.
“Our full attention is focused on the Round of 16 match against Belgium in Seattle, and we look forward to the continued support of our amazing fans.”
US President Donald Trump has hailed the move.
Writing on his Truth Social account, Trump said: “Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!”
This move is not unprecedented in this World Cup.
Before the start of the tournament last month, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo faced a three-match suspension after seeing red against the Republic of Ireland at Aviva Stadium.
Instead, he sat out the following qualifier against Armenia, with the other two suspended and converted to a one-year probation period. That meant Ronaldo didn’t miss any of the tournament’s group stage games.
The USA are attempting to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2002.
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