What is Article 27 of FIFA's Disciplinary Code that allows red-carded Balogun to play?

Highlights:

The United States will have striker Folarin Balogun available for their Fifa World Cup Round of 16 clash against Belgium after Fifa suspended the implementation of his one-match ban under Article 27 of its Disciplinary Code.

Balogun had been sent off in the previous round, which would normally have ruled him out of the knockout match. However, Fifa's Disciplinary Committee decided to suspend the sanction rather than enforce it immediately.

Article 27 of Fifa's Disciplinary Code allows the governing body's judicial bodies to suspend the implementation of all or part of a disciplinary sanction. The punishment itself is not cancelled but is placed on hold and may be enforced later if certain conditions are breached.

Under the rule, a player whose sanction is suspended is placed on a probationary period ranging from one to four years. In Balogun's case, Fifa set the probation period at one year.

If the player commits another infringement of a similar nature during that period, the suspended sanction is automatically reactivated in addition to any new disciplinary punishment imposed.

The disciplinary code does not specify the circumstances under which Fifa's judicial bodies may choose to suspend a sanction, leaving the decision to the discretion of the relevant committee.

The only sanctions that cannot be suspended under Article 27 are those related to match manipulation or match-fixing.

Fifa's judicial bodies include the Disciplinary Committee and the Appeal Committee. The Disciplinary Committee is chaired by Mohammad Al Kamali of the United Arab Emirates and consists of a chairperson, deputy chairperson and additional members. The chairperson and deputy chairperson must be qualified lawyers, and decisions require the presence of at least three members.

The provision was previously numbered as Article 26 under the 2019 edition of the Fifa Disciplinary Code before being renumbered as Article 27 in the 2023 revision.

FIFA World Cup 2026 / Explainer / Folarin Balogun

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