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Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia has strongly criticised FIFA’s decision to overturn the suspension of Folarin Balogun.

Balogun is now eligible to play against Belgium in the United States’ World Cup round-of-16 fixture, despite earlier being ruled out following a recent red card.

The Monaco striker had been set to miss the match after receiving a one-game ban for his dismissal during the United States’ last-32 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he was sent off for a foul on Tarik Muharemovic.

However, FIFA invoked Article 27 of its Disciplinary Code, which permits a suspension to be deferred for a 12-month probationary period.

This ruling allows the 25-year-old to feature for Mauricio Pochettino’s team in the Seattle clash, and remain available for the rest of the tournament unless he commits a similar offence within the next year.

The decision, reportedly influenced by lobbying from US President Donald Trump, sparked outrage from the Royal Belgian Football Association on Sunday.

Belgium’s boss Garcia joined the criticism ahead of their last-16 encounter, which could set up a quarter-final meeting with either Portugal or Spain.

“I thought the World Cup was in July, not April. It’s now April Fools,” Garcia remarked sarcastically.

“We’re not defending a national team or a federation. We’re defending football itself.”

FIFA’s ruling has been widely condemned across the football community, with former Manchester United and England defender Gary Neville also expressing his disapproval of the governing body’s reversal.

“It absolutely stinks, let’s be really clear,” Neville said during ITV’s coverage.

“What I would add is that there should be a proper review mechanism in place, because I honestly didn’t believe it was a red card. There should be a system that allows such decisions to be overturned through due process.

“But if no such process exists, and FIFA has suddenly decided from nowhere to let a player take part while everyone else must follow the same rules, that’s unacceptable.

“I would be absolutely furious if I were Belgium or any team in this tournament that’s had a player sent off under similar circumstances. Are we surprised, though? Not really, not with this organisation.”