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Belgium says Balogun red-card U-turn is ‘incomprehensible’

FIFA’s decision to overturn US striker Folarin Balogun’s suspension is “incomprehensible”, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said on Monday, hours before Belgium’s World Cup Last 16 match against the United States.

“If a phone call is really the reason for this incomprehensible decision, it would be a blatant violation of the most basic rules of football and sport,” the minister said in a statement.

“That would be very serious. How could FIFA still credibly plead fair play?”

Belgium Prime Minister Bart De Wever has not commented but appeared to get the claws out through his cat Maximus’ official Instagram account.

“Red card? I’m still going to play!” Maximus quipped in a caption on a post showing him with a red card close to his paws.

When contacted by AFP to ask if the premier intended to respond himself, his communications team referred to Maximus’ Instagram post.

Balogun, who has scored three goals at the World Cup, had been set to miss the clash in Seattle after receiving a straight red card following a video review for stepping on a Bosnia-Herzegovina defender’s foot in the round-of-32 match the US won 2-0.

Under FIFA rules, a straight red card automatically triggers a one-game ban.

US President Donald Trump called FIFA chief Gianni Infantino asking him to review Balogun’s punishment, two sources familiar with the matter told AFP.

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