Rudi Garcia, the technical director of the Belgian national team, stressed that the Belgian Federation is not defending itself but defending football before facing America in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup.
This comes after FIFA suspended the decision to ban American player Folarin Balogun following his red card against Bosnia in the round of 32.
The French coach said during the press conference before facing America: "The Belgian Federation is not only defending itself or its national team; it is defending football in general, whether its integrity or its ethics".
He added, "To my knowledge, I believe this is the first time in World Cup history that such a decision has been taken".
He continued, "I am the coach, so I will focus on my team and the match; it does not matter who will participate in America's starting lineup. What matters to me is the pitch, my team, achieving victory, and qualifying for the quarterfinals."
He concluded, "I did not know that July 5 in the World Cup is actually April 1. It is an April Fool's joke".
The Belgian Federation issued a statement expressing its astonishment at allowing Folarin Balogun to participate with the United States national team in the match between the two teams in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup. (Read the details)
FIFA decided to suspend the implementation of the automatic one-match ban against Balogun for a year on a probationary basis, making the player eligible to participate against Belgium.
What happened?
Balogun was sent off during the match against Bosnia due to a strong tackle on Bosnian player Tarek Mehremovic's foot with a direct red card after the referee reviewed the video technology.
Consequently, the player was expected to miss Belgium's round of 16 match due to the suspension.
After the match, according to "The Athletic" network, a FIFA official told them that "no national team has the right to appeal against a player's red card in the World Cup".
However, 24 hours before the match, FIFA's Disciplinary Committee issued a decision to suspend the ban on America's striker and top scorer with 3 goals in the 2026 World Cup.
Journalist Ben Jacobs indicated that the White House made a direct call to FIFA to ask Infantino to review the red card.
Then US President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social account: "Thank you FIFA for doing the right thing and correcting a great injustice".
A FIFA source told Jacobs that any influence from the White House cannot affect the decision, given the powers granted by Article 27 as well as the independence of the Disciplinary Committee that issued the decision.
The American national team is preparing to face Belgium tomorrow, Monday, in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup.
