Folarin Balogun red card ‘overturned by single FIFA judge’ | OneFootball

FIFA’s disciplinary code allows its committee president to rule alone in certain situations, a mechanism at the centre of Folarin Balogun’s lifted suspension before the United States’ last-16 tie with Belgium.

According to the Sunday Times, a single official, committee president Mohammad al-Kamali, overturned the American forward’s red card.

Balogun had been sent off in the 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in the round of 32, which initially ruled him out of the next match. The annulment made him eligible to face Belgium, who went on to win 4-1.

The code allows the president to act alone, or delegate, on urgent claims, the opening, suspension or closure of proceedings, suspensions of up to five matches or three months, and fines up to 100,000 Swiss francs.

He can also extend sanctions, decide recusal disputes, take, modify or cancel provisional measures, address order and security at matches, and rule on games not played or abandoned.

In comparable cases, single-member rulings have usually come from vice-president Jorge Palacio. Published FIFA decisions across more than 100 earlier cases did not show Kamali acting alone, while weightier files typically involve three members sitting together.

If Kamali did act alone, against all logic, to lift Balogun’s ban, it would add to suspicions of political intervention. Even so, the move appears to comply with the regulations.

Source: L'Équipe