FIFA disciplinary chair waived Folarin Balogun's USA-Belgium suspension on his own, didn't consult 17 other committee members: Report

The controversial decision to waive U.S. striker Folarin Balogun‘s red-card suspension in the World Cup was made solely by FIFA disciplinary chair Mohammad al-Kamali and without input from any of the 17 other members of his committee, The Times of London reported Sunday.

Balogun, USA’s leading scorer, was issued a red card for a foul in his team’s Round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Per FIFA rules, a red card comes with an automatic one-game suspension for the following game that Balogun was scheduled to serve during USA’s Round of 16 game against Belgium.

But Balogun was allowed to play despite decades of precedence dictating that FIFA would not overturn a red-card suspension during the World Cup. FIFA didn’t rescind the ban, but suspended it “for a probationary period of one (1) year” and issued a fine to Balogun of $40,000.

It marked the first time in World Cup history that a player scheduled for a red-card suspension was allowed to play. FIFA issued the ruling a day before the USA-Belgium game in a brief statement that cited Article 27 of its disciplinary code. It later issued a longer statement that defended the decision but offered no further details into the reasoning or process behind how it was reached.

On the day of the USA-Belgium game, U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed reports that he had called FIFA to ask for a review of the red card. FIFA president Gianni Infantino also confirmed that Trump called, but claimed that the decision was made without Trump’s influence. Trump thanked FIFA on social media once Balogun’s suspension was rescinded.

The decision sparked outcry from around the soccer world. Europe’s governing body, UEFA, expressed “disbelief” in a statement calling the decision “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable.”

Belgium issued an appeal of the decision that FIFA denied. The Belgians went on to a 4-1 win over USA with Balogun on the field.

Per the Times, several previous FIFA disciplinary cases have been decided by one committee member, usually deputy chairman, Jorge Palacio of Colombia. Kamali, who is from the United Arab Emirates, had never been the sole arbiter of a disciplinary committee decision, per the published findings of more than 100 previous cases, according to the Times.

Per Times, more important disciplinary cases are frequently made by a group of three members of the disciplinary committee.

FIFA did not respond to a request for comment from the Times regarding Kamali making the decision on his own. Kamali declined to answer several questions about the Balogun decision when asked by the BBC on Saturday.