• Blatter, UEFA blast FIFA for controversial Balogun decision

• Belgium’s appeal fails

The French Football Federation (FFF) has appealed to FIFA to rescind Michael Olise’s yellow card during the World Cup last-16 win over Paraguay on Saturday, reports nytimes.com.

Olise, the France playmaker and one of the stars of the tournament so far, was booked after an altercation with Matias Galarza. The Paraguayan went to ground holding his face, but replays showed the Bayern Munich forward was only holding his shirt.

The booking means Olise would miss a potential World Cup semifinal –against Spain or Portugal – should he pick up another yellow card and France progress in Thursday’s quarterfinal tie with Morocco in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Sources with knowledge of the situation, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to do so publicly, confirmed that France had appealed the decision to the world governing body. FIFA has been approached for comment.

The FFF’s move comes after FIFA suspended a one-match ban for USA striker Folarin Balogun following an intervention involving U.S. President Donald Trump, government officials, U.S. Soccer and an extensive legal team. The FFF insist its appeal is not a direct response to the Balogun case and that Olise’s yellow card was an injustice in its own right.

The intervention by the U.S. president was a bizarre twist in a story that will reverberate throughout this summer and beyond

Balogun was sent off against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first knockout round but is now able to face Belgium in Monday’s last 16 tie at 5 pm PT (8 pm ET) at Lumen Field in Seattle.

FIFA cited Article 27 of its disciplinary code to suspend Balogun’s ban for a year. The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) has appealed the decision, which has drawn widespread criticism, including from UEFA.

The European governing body said in a statement Monday that the decision “crossed a red line”, and left “the integrity of the game … at stake”.

UEFA added: “We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision.”

Meanwhile, FIFA has ruled a request from the Belgium football federation for an explanation of Folarin Balogun’s suspended red card as “inadmissible,” meaning they have no grounds to appeal the decision and the United States forward remains cleared to play against them in the World Cup round-of-16 match.

“The FIFA Appeal Committee has rendered a request submitted by the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) as inadmissible in relation to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee’s decision to suspend for one year the match suspension imposed on United States national team player Folarin Balogun following his dismissal for a direct red card during the FIFA World Cup 2026 match between the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina, played on 1 July 2026 at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium,” FIFA said in a statement yesterday.

“The chairperson of the FIFA Appeal Committee, Neil Eggleston (from the United States), was not involved in the decision. The request was rendered inadmissible because the RBFA is not a party to the proceedings and, as such, has no standing to appeal the decision.”

The Belgian federation (RBFA) put in a request to FIFA yesterday, saying it had still not received “FIFA’s decision or any explanation regarding this matter” and adding that “In these circumstances, it has no choice but to challenge the player’s eligibility for the upcoming match.”

European soccer body UEFA earlier criticised FIFA for an “incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision” that it said “crossed a red line” by not enforcing Balogun’s mandatory one-game ban for his foul tackle against Bosnia-Herzegovina last Wednesday.

FIFA’s ruling Sunday — to defer Balogun’s ban for one year of probation — deviated from soccer’s traditional rule of law and drew stinging criticism globally, including from former World Cup stars and coaches at this tournament.

UEFA, whose member federations include Belgium, insisted: “Sometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case not.”

“When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined,” said the European soccer body, which has often clashed with Infantino during his decade in FIFA power,” said UEFA, where Infantino was its CEO-like general secretary from 2009 until being elected to lead FIFA in February 2016.

Infantino’s predecessor Sepp Blatter, who was forced from office in 2015 in fallout from corruption scandals, posted yesterday on social media: “Red cards are not overturned by political phone calls. They are overturned by rules, evidence and independent bodies.”