Two months on, Belgium still has no answers — and now they're making it Gianni Infantino's problem. The RBFA has formally withheld support for Infantino's re-election as FIFA president until the governing body explains how Folarin Balogun's automatic red-card ban was suspended in time for the U.S. striker to face Belgium in their World Cup last-16 clash.
The sequence of events is what makes this so uncomfortable for FIFA. Donald Trump personally lobbied Infantino to review the case. The ban was suspended. Balogun played. Belgium lost. And FIFA has offered nothing resembling a coherent explanation since.
A governance problem FIFA can't talk its way out of
RBFA President Pascale Van Damme didn't mince it: "Two months after the events, we note that our questions remain unanswered to date." That's not a federation being difficult. That's an organisation pointing out, with restraint, that a head of state apparently influenced a disciplinary ruling at a World Cup knockout game and the body responsible has gone quiet.
The Belgian federation is pushing for the Balogun case to be placed on the agenda at the next FIFA Council meeting on October 15. They're also raising a separate concern around FIFA Forward Enterprise, where several financial decisions have gone unjustified — part of a broader pattern of opacity that has put multiple federations on edge.
Belgium isn't alone here. The RBFA confirmed it's coordinating closely with UEFA on both issues, which suggests this pressure campaign has institutional backing rather than being one federation venting frustration. UEFA's appetite for confronting FIFA on governance has grown considerably in recent years, and Belgium's public stance gives that coalition a sharper edge.
What this means beyond the headlines
Infantino is seeking another term as FIFA president, and any erosion of European federation support is a real problem — not a symbolic one. European votes carry weight, and the RBFA's position signals that the Balogun case hasn't quietly gone away as FIFA might have hoped.
The federation also previously opposed FIFA's proposed sale of a stake in World Cup commercial rights, saying it was committed to "a strong, independent and sustainable model for international football." Taken together, it's a consistent posture: Belgium is willing to push back where most prefer to stay quiet.
"It is essential that such cases are handled in a transparent and rigorous manner, in the interests of FIFA, the good governance and the credibility of international football, with clear safeguards for the future," the RBFA said. Hard to argue with that. Harder still to explain why FIFA hasn't managed it yet.
