Belgium Shot Down On Appeal To Keep U.S. Star Sidelined As Europe’s Tantrum Falls Short

American soccer star Folarin Balogun has been cleared once again to suit up on Monday night against Belgium as the European country’s effort to keep the U.S. striker sidelined was shot down by the FIFA Appeal Committee.

The FIFA committee ruled that Belgium’s appeal of the decision to overturn Balogun’s one-game suspension was “inadmissible” since Belgium was “not a party to the proceedings and, as such, has no standing to appeal the decision,” The Athletic reported. Belgium said it could still pursue other actions to contest Balogun’s eligibility for Monday night’s round of 16 showdown, but for now, the Belgians will have to accept the reality they’ll likely be facing America at full strength.

“The [Royal Belgian Football Association] 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,” Belgium’s soccer bosses wrote after the appeal was rejected.

The Royal Belgian Football Association also complained that it “has still not received any grounds for” FIFA’s decision to overturn Balogun’s one-game suspension. The U.S. star was given a red card during Team USA’s round of 32 game against Bosnia and Herzegovina when he collided with an opposing defender and his cleats caught the back of the defender’s ankle. The referee did not dish out the red card until after he used replay assist to revisit the incident. With a red card, Balogun was also ruled ineligible to play in America’s round of 16 game, according to FIFA rules.

Shortly after a phone call between President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino, however, FIFA overturned Balogun’s suspension on Sunday, sparking outrage among European soccer elites.

“I didn’t tell [Infantino] what to do,” Trump said on Monday. “I can’t tell him what to do, and I don’t believe he made the decision. I believe it was a committee that made the decision, and they made the right decision.”

The referee who gave Balogun a red card is suspected of using replay assist improperly and slowing down the speed of the video that showed the collision between the U.S. star and the player from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The White House put together a team of elite lawyers to look into challenging soccer officials’ use of replay review, OutKick founder Clay Travis reported.

European soccer leaders blasted FIFA after the suspension reversal, claiming the decision hurts the “integrity” of the game.

“When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined,” the Union of European Football Associations wrote. “Equally, such decision creates a precedent in the ongoing tournament, where similar situations will now require an equal treatment, to the detriment of the competition.”

The United States takes on Belgium at 7:00 p.m. ET on Monday.