Striker Folarin Balogun will be eligible to play for the USA in their World Cup round of 16 clash with Belgium in Seattle on Monday after FIFA suspended his one-match ban for a year.
Balogun, who is the US’s top scorer at the tournament with three goals, was sent off during his country’s 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last-32 for stepping on the right ankle of defender Tarik Muharemovic.
It was a challenge that USA boss Mauricio Pochettino later called “normal”, saying the tackle was “never” worthy of a red card.
The same ruling that cleared Cristiano Ronaldo to play
The ban would have ruled Balogun out of arguably the biggest game in the history of the USA men’s team, however, FIFA’s disciplinary committee said it made the decision in line with Article 27 of its Disciplinary Code, which allows them to rescind red cards.
Football’s global governing body previously used the same section of its code to clear Cristiano Ronaldo to start the opening games of Portugal’s World Cup following his dismissal against the Republic of Ireland in qualifying.
The ruling does stipulate, however, that should Balogun commit what the code refers to as “another infringement of a similar nature and gravity” then the striker will serve his one-game ban.
In a statement, US Soccer said: “We accept the decision of the disciplinary committee and are pleased that Folarin Balogun is eligible to compete tomorrow [Monday].
“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.”
