The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) released an official notice, stating FIFA has declined to respond to its legitimate demands and questioning player Balogun’s eligibility to feature.

◆ Official Statement of The Royal Belgian Football Association

Subsequent to its prior statement, the RBFA wishes to provide a public account of the chain of events that unfolded over the past several hours.

After learning via media coverage that FIFA had ruled to cancel player Balogun's automatic suspension, the RBFA dispatched an official letter to FIFA. It requested a copy of this ruling, a breakdown of the procedures adopted, and the opportunity to articulate its stance on the relevant applicable regulations.

FIFA’s sole reply was an official letter sent to the RBFA, asserting that the RBFA’s correspondence qualified as a formal appeal. FIFA assigned a judge to preside over the case and ordered the RBFA to finalize its appeal submission within several hours, yet furnished no supporting relevant information whatsoever.

Per FIFA’s own internal regulations, an appeal can only be deemed admissible if the appellant is first formally served with a fully reasoned ruling document. The RBFA merely sought reasonable clarification; however, FIFA unilaterally designated its inquiry as an appeal and immediately moved to rule this appeal inadmissible.

All of this has unfolded amid FIFA’s concurrent refusal to answer the RBFA’s legitimate inquiries.

Furthermore, during the pre-match coordination meeting, FIFA intentionally removed all sections concerning automatic player suspensions from its presentation materials. This agenda item had been included in identical coordination meetings held ahead of all four preceding matches. The RBFA raised oral and written inquiries to FIFA regarding the rationale for this removal, yet once again received no response.

It must be clearly clarified that up to the present moment, the RBFA has not received any formal ruling or explanatory documentation from FIFA on this matter. The RBFA is therefore left with no alternative other than to lodge an official objection to the player’s eligibility to participate in the upcoming fixture.

Regardless of the sporting outcome of this match, the RBFA harbors profound concerns regarding the progression of this incident. It will continue to contest this matter over the coming hours, days and even months to uphold the fundamental principles of ethics, morality and fair competition, alongside safeguarding the interests of football as a global sport.