00:00FIFA has cleared US striker Follarin Balogun to play against Belgium after suspending his automatic rate card ban following a
00:09personal appeal by US President Donald Trump.
00:12The unprecedented decision has sparked a backlash with Belgium accusing FIFA of undermining the sport's integrity.
00:21Belgium head coach Rudy Garcia likened the decision to an April Fool's joke, saying it was the first time in
00:28World Cup history that a player had been allowed to avoid an automatic suspension.
01:02The New York Times reported that Trump personally called FIFA President Gianni Infantino after Balogun was sent off for a
01:09challenge on a Bosnia and Herzegovina defender.
01:12Under FIFA's rules, a straight red card normally carries an automatic one-match ban.
01:17But FIFA said its disciplinary committee had suspended that sanction under Art. 27 of its disciplinary code, placing Balogun on
01:26a one-year probation instead.
01:28The decision is believed to be the first of its kind at the Men's World Cup since 1962 and has
01:33raised fresh questions about the independence of FIFA's disciplinary process.
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