Belgium granted right to appeal Folarin Balogun suspension ruling

Belgian soccer officials on Monday were granted the right to appeal the ruling that resulted in USMNT’s ace Folarin Balogun’s ban being overturned – hours before the two nations clash in Seattle.Bosses of the European federation wrote to FIFA chiefs, saying they were “astonished” by the dramatic decision, and the right to appeal has now been given the green light, anonymous sources told the Athletic.It now means a member of the FIFA appeals committee – who is not part of UEFA or CONCACAF – will now hear Belgium’s case.Belgium and US Soccer bosses were ordered to make submissions by 5 a.m.PST Monday ahead of the appeal being heard.It’s possible a ruling could be made before the last 16 game kicks off – but Belgian soccer authorities have reportedly not been given any guarantees.It’s not known if the outcome of the appeal will result in Balogun’s ban being re-imposed.Balogun, 25, was given a red card during USMNT 2-0 win over Bosnia for what video assistant referees ruled as serious foul play.The referee on the field initially didn’t blow his whistle for a foul on Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemović  but was ordered to review the challenge on a monitor.The decision was highly controversial due to the use of slow motion, which made the foul look far worse than it did in real time, as well as that Balogun didn’t appear to have any intent; rather, he didn’t seem to have another place to put his foot.US Soccer claimed the VAR process was incorrectly applied, a source told The Post’s Mark Cannizzaro.“A legal appeal was sent to FIFA,’’ the source said.

“They wanted to avoid CAS.The CAS legal was ready to go.’’Trump specifically reached out to FIFA chief Gianni Infantino after the match on Wednesday, a US government official said.Though the appeal process is run by an independent board, the US government interjected and provided “additional evidence” used in the appeal process, the source said.“Ultimately, the correct and ...