Report: FIFA official acted alone in clearing USMNT's Folarin Balogun to face Belgium

Key Points:

• FIFA disciplinary chair Mohammad al-Kamali unilaterally waived U.S. striker Folarin Balogun's red-card suspension for the World Cup Round of 16 match, without input from the other 17 committee members, according to The Times of London.
• Balogun received a red card in the Round of 32 but was allowed to play against Belgium after FIFA suspended the ban for a one-year probationary period and fined him $40,000; this marked only the second time FIFA lifted a World Cup red-card suspension.
• U.S. President Donald Trump personally called FIFA to request a review of Balogun's suspension, which FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed but said did not influence the decision; Trump publicly thanked FIFA after the ban was rescinded.
• The decision drew widespread criticism, including from UEFA, which called it "unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable," and Belgium appealed the ruling, though FIFA denied the appeal.
• Historically, important FIFA disciplinary decisions involve multiple committee members, but Kamali, who had never before been the sole decision-maker, acted alone in this high-profile case, deviating from established precedent.