New York, July 6 -- Former FIFA president Joseph Sepp Blatter has questioned the circumstances surrounding United States striker Folarin Balogun's eligibility for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 clash against Belgium, saying football must never become a playground for political power.

Earlier, FIFA announced that the implementation of Balogun's automatic one-match suspension had been suspended under Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.

In its statement, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee said, "By operation of Article 27 FDC, the implementation of the automatic match suspension for USA player Folarin Balogun is suspended for a probationary period of one (1) year."

Reacting to the development in a post on X, Blatter stressed that ...