Article 27 of FIFA's Disciplinary Code: The FIFA twist that allows US' Folarin Balogun to play despite seeing red card

United States striker Folarin Balogun will be available for his country's FIFA World Cup Round of 16 clash against Belgium on Monday after FIFA suspended the implementation of his one-match ban following a red card in the previous round by invoking Article 27 of the governing body's Disciplinary Code.

The sanction itself has not been cancelled. Instead, FIFA has temporarily suspended its implementation under Article 27, allowing Balogun to feature against Belgium while keeping the disciplinary punishment in force should the conditions attached to the suspension later be breached.

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Article 27 allows FIFA to suspend the implementation of a disciplinary sanction. Although the sanction remains valid, it does not have to be served immediately unless the suspension is revoked at a later stage.

Under the Disciplinary Code, FIFA's judicial bodies have the authority to suspend the implementation of either all or part of a disciplinary sanction. However, the regulations do not set out the specific circumstances in which a judicial body may choose to suspend a punishment.

The judicial bodies covered under the code include FIFA's Disciplinary Committee and the Appeal Committee, both of which have responsibilities in disciplinary matters arising from international football competitions.

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When a sanction is suspended under Article 27, the player is placed on a probationary period lasting between one and four years. If the player commits another infringement of a similar nature during that period, the suspended sanction automatically comes back into effect in addition to any fresh disciplinary punishment imposed.

In Balogun's case, FIFA has suspended the implementation of his match ban for a probationary period of one year.

The Disciplinary Code also makes clear that not every disciplinary measure is eligible for suspension. Sanctions relating to match manipulation are specifically excluded and cannot be suspended under Article 27.

FIFA's Disciplinary Committee is made up of a chairperson, a deputy chairperson and additional members. Both the chairperson and deputy chairperson must be qualified lawyers, while the committee can take decisions only when at least three members are present.

Mohammad Al Kamali of the United Arab Emirates is currently the chairperson of FIFA's Disciplinary Committee.

Members of the committee are elected by the FIFA Congress for four-year terms and may serve a maximum of three terms.

Article 27 has also undergone a numbering change in recent years. It was listed as Article 26 when FIFA updated its Disciplinary Code in 2019 before becoming Article 27 following another revision in 2023.