Belgian football federation withdraws support for Infantino’s FIFA re-election bid

The Royal Belgian Football Association has formally announced it will not back Gianni Infantino’s bid for another term as FIFA president. The decision, made public on September 7, 2026, makes Belgium the latest in a string of European federations to pull their support from the man who has led global football’s governing body since 2016. The Balogun incident that broke the camel’s back At the center of Belgium’s discontent is the case of Folarin Balogun, the US Men’s National Team striker who received a red card during the 2026 World Cup. Under normal circumstances, an automatic one-match suspension would have sidelined Balogun for the next game. That next game happened to be against Belgium in the knockout round. FIFA’s disciplinary committee, however, temporarily suspended the automatic ban. Balogun played. Belgium protested. Two months later, the RBFA says it still hasn’t received satisfactory answers from FIFA about how and why that decision was made. Belgium has now formally requested that the Balogun case be placed on the agenda for the FIFA Council meeting scheduled for October 15, 2026. A broader European revolt At least five European national associations had already formal...