FIFA to amend Article 27 of disciplinary code after Balogun case

Oct 15 - FIFA will amend its disciplinary regulations after controversy over its decision to suspend U.S. forward Folarin Balogun’s automatic World Cup ban, the Belgian Football Association (RBFA) said on Thursday after raising the issue with soccer’s governing body.

The decision follows criticism of FIFA’s move to suspend Balogun’s automatic one-match ban for a red card, allowing the striker to play against Belgium in their last-16 clash.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he had personally asked FIFA President Gianni Infantino to review the sanction, prompting questions about the independence of the disciplinary process.

Following Thursday's FIFA Council meeting in Zurich, RBFA president and FIFA Council member Pascale Van Damme said the governing body would revise Article 27 of its Disciplinary Code, which allows the implementation of a disciplinary sanction to be suspended in exceptional circumstances.

The proposed amendment will be submitted for approval at the next FIFA Council meeting in Doha on December 16, the Belgian federation said.

"FIFA’s confirmation that Article 27 will be amended, following the request we had already submitted in July, is an important step. The proposed amendment, together with an explanation of the specific circumstances of the Balogun case, will be submitted in Doha," said Van Damme.

The RBFA had sought clarification from FIFA over the circumstances surrounding the decision, saying it had not received satisfactory explanations about how Article 27 had been applied or what criteria would govern comparable cases.

RBFA has also asked FIFA to provide assurances that there had been no external interference in the disciplinary proceedings, to explain the exceptional circumstances that justified the use of Article 27, and to guarantee that member associations would have the right to be heard in future disciplinary cases.

According to the RBFA, FIFA responded by stressing that all decisions are taken independently by its judicial bodies and confirmed that work was already underway on amending Article 27.

The Belgian federation had requested that the Balogun case be placed on the agenda for Thursday’s Council meeting as it sought greater transparency over the process. REUTERS