FIFA to amend Article 27 of Disciplinary Code — Dawn

In Zurich, Switzerland, FIFA plans to amend Article 27 of its Disciplinary Code following a dispute over the decision to suspend the enforcement of the automatic one-match ban imposed on United States national team forward Folarin Balogun. The Belgian Football Association reported this after a FIFA Council meeting, Dawn writes.

Changes to Article 27

Article 27 allows the enforcement of a disciplinary sanction to be suspended in exceptional circumstances. Its application in Balogun's case after a red card allowed the player to take part against Belgium in the World Cup round-of-16 match.

Belgian Football Association President and FIFA Council member Pascale Van Damme said that a draft amendment, together with an explanation of the specific circumstances of Balogun's case, is to be submitted for approval at the next FIFA Council meeting. It is scheduled for December 16 in Doha.

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Requests from the Belgian federation

The Belgian association had previously asked FIFA to explain exactly how Article 27 was applied in this case. According to it, the association did not receive comprehensive clarification regarding the criteria under which the provision may be applied in similar cases.

The federation also asked FIFA to assure that there was no external interference in the disciplinary proceedings, explain the exceptional circumstances for applying the article, and guarantee member associations the right to be heard in future disciplinary cases. According to the Belgian side, FIFA stressed that its judicial bodies make decisions independently and that work on amendments to the article is already underway.

The dispute intensified after US President Donald Trump said that he had personally asked FIFA President Gianni Infantino to review the sanction against Balogun. This raised questions about the independence of the disciplinary process.