former arsenal and france legend Thierry Henry FIFA believes FIFA ultimately made the right decision to overturn Folarin Balogun’s World Cup ban, but questions why football’s governing body waited until the eve of the United States’ last-16 clash with Belgium to take action. Speaking to Fox Sports after FIFA’s dramatic U-turn, Henry said the late ruling would inevitably affect Belgium’s preparations, even if Balogun’s red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina should never have resulted in a suspension in the first place. His comments came after FIFA cleared the American striker to compete following a special disciplinary review. “It’s big news for Belgium. It’s going to break their spirits a little bit because you prepare to play a certain way and suddenly you have to change your preparation,” Henry said. “When you come back to it, I don’t think it was the right decision. We all said that. We all know he didn’t mean it. But if you’re Belgian and you’re preparing for the game, that changes everything.” The former World Cup winner agreed with FIFA’s final ruling but criticized the timing of the decision, noting that Article 27 of FIFA’s disciplinary code allows for the postponement of the execution of a ban. “It’s the right decision, but why so late? If Article 27 has been around for so long, why wasn’t it implemented immediately?” Henry added. In the US team’s 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina, referee Rafael Kraus upgraded the penalty after a VAR review and Balogun was sent off directly. The dismissal triggered an automatic one-match suspension, which FIFA later announced on Sunday would be suspended for a year under Article 27. The decision was taken after a phone call with the President of the United States. Donald Trump and FIFA president Gianni Infantino, the Associated Press reported that Trump asked for a review of the red card. Trump later celebrated the verdict on social media, writing: “Thank you FIFA for doing the right thing and reversing a huge injustice!” The ruling sparked fierce debate in football. Belgium coach Rudi Garcia sarcastically compared the decision to April Fools’ Day, while the Royal Belgian Football Federation said it was exploring all legal options to protect the integrity of the game. Norway coach Solbakken also condemned the move, calling it “a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad decision that will damage the World Cup”. However, the decision is a major boost for the United States ahead of their knockout match against Belgium, with head coach Mauricio Pochettino welcoming the ruling, who felt the U.S. had been punished for playing more than 30 minutes with 10 men against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
