The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) has expressed displeasure over FIFA’s decision to suspend the ban on American player Folarin Bagulain. The RBFA said that their request for information was incorrectly considered an appeal by FIFA and they will now challenge the player’s eligibility.
Washington DC [यूएस]July 6 (ANI): The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) has confirmed that it has written to the governing body (FIFA) asking for a copy of the decision, an explanation of the process and an explanation following FIFA’s decision to suspend the one-match ban imposed on Folarin Bagulain. The decision came ahead of their FIFA World Cup Round of 16 clash against the United States.
RBFA made serious allegations against FIFA
According to the RBFA, FIFA instead treated their letter as an appeal, appointed a judge, and gave Belgium only a few hours to complete the appeal without providing the underlying decision or any supporting information. The RBFA argued that FIFA’s own rules require a reasoned decision to be communicated before an appeal can be filed, and accused the governing body of crafting an appeal that was destined to be inadmissible, while ignoring its legitimate requests for information.
The association also claimed that FIFA removed the agenda item on automatic player suspension from the pre-match coordination meeting without any explanation. Stating that it had yet to receive any formal decision or justification from FIFA, the RBFA announced that it would challenge Bagulain’s eligibility for the upcoming match and vowed to pursue the case in defense of ethics, fair competition and the integrity of football regardless of the outcome of the game.
The RBFA said in a statement, “After learning of FIFA’s decision to lift the automatic suspension of player Bagulain through media reports, the RBFA sent a letter to FIFA requesting a copy of the decision, an explanation of the procedure adopted and clarifying its position in relation to the applicable rules. As its sole response, FIFA sent a letter to the RBFA stating that it considers this correspondence to be an appeal, that a judge has been appointed, and The RBFA only had a few hours to complete that appeal. No information was provided by FIFA.”
Agenda removed from the meeting without reply
The statement further added, “For an appeal to be admissible, FIFA’s own rules state that a reasoned decision must first be communicated to the appellant. While the RBFA was only asking for legitimate explanations, FIFA itself created an appeal and immediately ensured that it would be declared inadmissible. All this happened while FIFA simultaneously refused to respond to the RBFA’s legitimate requests. Furthermore, during the match coordination meeting, FIFA deliberately deviated from its presentation. Removed the section relating to automatic suspension of players. This topic had nevertheless been part of all such meetings before each of the previous four matches, with the RBFA questioning FIFA verbally and in writing about the reasons for this change.
Will challenge the player’s ability
The RBFA said, “Clearly, as of this time, the RBFA has not received any decision or any clarification from FIFA in relation to this matter. It therefore has no option but to challenge the player’s eligibility for the upcoming match. Regardless of the sporting outcome of this match, the RBFA is very concerned by the course of events and will continue to fight in the coming hours, days and months in defense of the fundamental principles of ethics, fair competition and the interests of football as a whole.”
Why was Bagulen’s ban suspended?
The controversy follows FIFA’s announcement that it was suspending the enforcement of Bagulain’s automatic one-match suspension under Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, following the intervention of US President Donald Trump, who urged the organization to review the case. Earlier, FIFA announced that the implementation of Bagulain’s automatic one-match suspension under Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code has been suspended. In its statement, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee said, “By operation of Article 27 FDC, the implementation of the automatic match suspension for USA player Folarin Bagulane is suspended for a probationary period of one (1) year.” (ANI)
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